Saturday, August 05, 2017

Watch the eclipse--safely

Thanks to friend and meteorologist Bill Proenza for hints on watch the eclipse safely and where to go to understand it better, find out more about eclipses and this particular one in August. Bill sent this out as an email and was kind enough to say share it with others. One thing I've heard from him and others: if you plan to look directly at the eclipse, get your safety glasses now--they're selling out quickly. Here's his message:

In the next paragraph, please find the link to NASA's video map animation depicting the temporal and spatial movement for our nation's upcoming, August 21, 2017, solar eclipse.  It also shows the percentage of the sun that will be moon blocked for anywhere in the USA.  For example, the DFW area will experience about a 75% to 80% solar eclipse! 

Remember, this event will be a total solar eclipse for a path across the US and not just an annular (or partial).  It is the first solar eclipse to cross the entire contiguous USA since 1918.  Watch this video to determine what your area will experience and if necessary, how far you need to travel for the full 100% effect: 
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4314

For more background information, here is NASA's home page on the solar eclipse:
https://www.nasa.gov/eclipse

And more from a dedicated astronomical ".org" site:
http://www.eclipse2017.org/

Safety!  Here is a link on how to view the eclipse safely.  Believe me you can cause permanent eyesight damage without following these precautions in viewing this solar eclipse! So, please take the following advice from NASA:
https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety

Very Important!   So, you need to buy the special solar filter eyeglasses following the above NASA safety precautions!  Here is a non-profit ".org" site with eclipse safety eyeglasses at a reasonable cost (from less than $2 to $4 each) fully meeting the "2012 Transmission Requirements of EN 1836:2005 & AS/NZS 1338.1:1992 for Eclipse filters":
http://www.eclipse2017.org/glasses_order.htm

Weather?...oh yes!  I wouldn't forget to share the following with you about the weather, especially the cloud factor!  So here is the climatology of clouds across the USA for this solar eclipse time:
http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/weather/2017_clouds.htm

And last, here is a brief summary of humankind's accumulated eclipse history:
https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-history

4 comments:

Becky Michael said...

Thanks for all the solid info and links about this, Judy! I'm wondering how they'll handle this in the schools that will already be in session to make sure the students are all safe.

judyalter said...

Good point, Becky. I had been wondering how to emphasize the safety aspect to grandchildren but hadn't thought it through far enough to realize they will already be in school. I don't intend to look at the sun, but I think everyone who does must order their glasses yesterday, and that include my kids and grandkids.

Unknown said...

One way to "watch" the eclipse is to take a sheet of paper, puncture a small hole in the center, then place it between two chairs. As the eclipse happens, you can "watch" it as it is projected on the ground beneath.

judyalter said...

Sounds safe. I plan to "watch" it by just watching it get dark mid-day. Don'tfeel the need to look at the sun.