The biggest partial eclipse in 20 years is set to occur this coming Thursday, and you definitely won’t want to miss it.
After the visibility failure that was the total lunar eclipse just 2 weeks ago, the moon has swung back around to the sun-ward side of it’s orbit and will treat a large portion of North America to a partial solar eclipse Thursday evening. To see this eclipse you will want a good view to the west at sunset, as well as some way to safely view the sun.
The easiest/cheapest viewing method is to poke a pinhole in a piece of dark paper, which will allow you to project the image of the sun on a wall. If you have them, solar glasses work great and welding helmets will work well also.
The maximum eclipse will occur right at sunset with roughly 40% of the sun’s surface being covered by the moon, but most folk’s horizon will only show about 30% coverage (still not too shabby). The partial eclipse will begin at 5:51PM and last until sunset around 6:45. As of now, the weather looks fantastic with just a few scattered clouds to get in the way.
What exactly causes a partial solar eclipse, though? It is basically just the opposite of a lunar eclipse, with the moon passing between the Earth and Sun rather than the Earth passing between the Sun and Moon. In the case of a total eclipse, the moon blots out the entire sun, but in the case of a partial the pass is off-center.
Be sure to spread the word and I’ll update with a reminder either late tomorrow or early Thursday.~TW
