Real Simple Astronomy

Of all the things one can see in the sky, the Total Eclipse of the Sun has the reputation of being the most spectacular. In this event, day turns into night as the Moon covers the bright part of the Sun. During this time, the outer region of the Sun, called the Corona, is visible. Unfortunately, a Total Solar Eclipses is visible only to people on a narrow strip of land. For the rest of the world, the Sun is covered only partially, or not at all.

Fortunately, residents of the continental United States will soon have a chance to see a Total Eclipse of the Sun without making a long journey. On Monday, August 21, 2017, a Total Eclipse will be visible in 14 states.

Back in 1963, a Total Eclipse was visible in Canada and upper New England. At my home in New Jersey, the Sun was partially covered (called a Partial Eclipse). This photo shows how we used our home-built telescope to project the image of the eclipsed Sun onto a piece of paper. This is one of the safe ways to view an eclipse.

Now – 54 years later – I am starting to make plans to see “the big one”. There is so much to say, so I have included links to some very good sources of information.

One closing thought: “Eclipse Glasses” are a good tool for safe observing. They are inexpensive, and will be useful all over the country. So, they would make good Christmas presents!

John

http://eclipses.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2017/TSE2017.html

http://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/eclipse-2017/

http://www.eclipse2017.org/

Greetings! I would like to start by thanking you for your patience with my lack of experience with on-line publishing. Let’s see if I can get going without too many mishaps!

I usually enjoy astronomy when I am looking up into the sky. However, interesting things can be found by looking at the ground! A year ago, as my wife and I were on an afternoon walk, our shadows looked strange. I was surprised to see how long they were and how well they lined up with the road direction.

Here’s the situation: We were out just before sunset on the first day of Autumn. We were walking Eastward on an East-West road. On the first day of Autumn, sunset is exactly in the West. So our shadows were a couple of hundred feet long, without going off the road.

Notice that our shadows are veering to the left. Since the Sun was still a little bit above the horizon, it wasn’t exactly in the West. It was a tiny bit to the South. Therefore, our shadows were pointing a tiny bit to the North.

I will back again soon!

lookin’ up,

John

Real Simple Astronomy

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