Safely viewing the solar eclipse

On Aug. 21, people in the United States will have a rare opportunity to see a solar eclipse. Parts of the country along a path from Lincoln City, Ore., to Charleston, S.C., will experience the darkness of a total eclipse. In Vermont, we will experience about 60 percent solar coverage.

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Safely viewing the solar eclipse BY TERRI J. HUCK, The ShopperAugust 17, 2017 SPRINGFIELD, Vt.—On Aug. 21, people in the United States will have a rare opportunity to see a solar eclipse. Parts of the country along a path from Lincoln City, Ore., to Charleston, S.C., will experience the darkness of a total eclipse. It is the first time since 1918 that a total solar eclipse will be visible from coast to coast. solar eclipse 12-year-old Alex Frye checks his special viewing glasses prior to viewing the partial solar eclipse from a highway overpass in Arlington, VA, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, . Photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls. Eclipses happen when the moon passes in front of the sun and casts a shadow on the Earth’s surface. In Vermont, we will experience about 60 percent solar coverage starting around 1:25 p.m. and ending around 4:00 p.m. (weather permitting). It is never safe to look directly at the sun even during a partial eclipse because doing so can damage your vision. Safe ways to view the eclipse include using a telescope fitted with a solar filter, special eclipse glasses (not sunglasses) from a reputable source or a homemade pinhole projector. When using such projectors, the viewer should always have his or her back to the sun. The process is like watching a movie projected on a screen, said Kristine Larsen, a professor at Central Connecticut State University who gave a presentation about making low-tech eclipse viewers at the Springfield Telescope Makers’ Stellafane Convention in July. “Anything that makes little holes will give you an image,” she said. “If you have a tree, the sunlight will go between the little gaps between the leaves, and you’ll have lots and lots of little pinhole projectors.” A pasta strainer will also have the same effect. Larsen demonstrated a variety of homemade viewers, but said mailing tubes are the best. Transforming one into a pinhole projector involves removing the top cap, covering the opening with aluminum foil that has a pinhole in it, and cutting an entry way on the side of the tube near the opposite end so that the projected image of the sun is visible on the inside bottom of the tube. solar eclipse The red band in the map above shows the path of the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21. Vermont will see a partial eclipse starting around 1:25 p.m. Photo provided by NASA. “A 1-meter-long mailing tube will give you an image of the sun that’s about 1 centimeter wide, which will allow you to actually see what’s going on in the eclipse,” she said. If you plan to make your own eclipse viewer, Larsen’s advice is to start early: “Play around with the designs and find one that works for you.” For more information on the eclipse, including safety tips and ideas for pinhole projectors, go to eclipse2017.nasa.gov.