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Darkness at Noon*: The Upcoming Total Solar Eclipse

Writer's picture: Mishkat BhattacharyaMishkat Bhattacharya

Motivation


It has been difficult to avoid the excitement over the solar eclipse predicted to occur on next Monday, April 8, because


i) Rochester, NY is in the path of totality (the eclipse is coming to us!).


ii) My departmental colleagues who are astronomers have been putting out fascinating information about the event (here's an excellent sample, due to Prof. Michael Richmond).


iii) Such events occur once in about a hundred years; so once in a lifetime.


iv) Any laziness or lack of enthusiasm I might have shown (after all optics people like me are rather used to seeing light sources getting blocked by objects) had to dissipate after friends with family forecast their intentions of showing up at my place for the viewing. I caved in and went out and bought eclipse glasses.


Mention should also be made of other friends and members of my extended family, who are traveling elsewhere to view the eclipse. Their enthusiasm and curiosity ends up rubbing off on me.


v) To add to the excitement, there is some possibility of cloud coverage interfering with the viewing of the eclipse in Rochester.


Here are the main pieces of related information I was able to gather:


Relevant information


i) A solar eclipse occurs when the moon lines up with the sun and the earth on opposite sides of it.


ii) We may think that solar eclipses occur quite often since the moon goes around the earth every 29 days and can be found between the sun and the earth once every month (roughly).


The reason eclipses do not occur so frequently is that the plane of the orbit of the moon is tilted to the plane that contains the sun and the earth. So at most times, the moon is too high or too low to in the sky block out the sun, or at least to block it out totally.


iii) A coincidence that makes the eclipse total is that presently the sizes of the moon and the sun as viewed from the Earth are roughly the same. This is expected to change over astronomical time, as, for example, when the sun expands in size.


iv) Stars and planets will become visible in the sky for the short duration (a few minutes) of the total solar eclipse.


iv) Cool video taken from space of the moon's shadow on earth during such an eclipse.


The most relevant information


i) It is never safe to look at the sun directly, as some of the electromagnetic radiation it emits is dangerous to the eye.


ii) On normal days, or during partial eclipses, one should not look directly at the sun for more than an instant, even with sunglasses on.


iii) On normal days, or during partial eclipses, one should not look directly at the sun through binoculars or telescopes as they will focus the sun's rays and damage the eye. This effect can be demonstrated by using a magnifying glass to focus sunlight on grass or paper; the material will burst into flames.


iv) Before and after a total solar eclipse, eclipse glasses should be used for viewing the sun. These glasses are able to block out the harmful radiation, but not if a binocular or telescope is focusing the sun's rays. So the glasses should be the only thing between your eyes and the sun.


v) During totality, when the sun is almost completely blocked by the moon, the eclipse glasses can be taken off. Since the sun is blocked off, the harmful radiation it emits will not reach us.


Happy eclipse viewing!

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*Referring to the novel by Arthur Koestler.



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