View on Astronomy: Do you still have those eclipse glasses? Put them to good use next week | Arts and life

Who can forget the incredible partial solar eclipse spectacle seen locally on August 21, 2017, as part of the Great American Total Solar Eclipse across the United States? Here in Rhode Island, 65% of the solar disk was covered by the moon at most. My wife Tina and I had traveled to Adams, Tennessee, and witnessed the totality for 2 minutes and 36 seconds. You can read our full experience by clicking on Journey to Totality on theskyscrapers.org.

This year, on June 10, there will be an annual solar eclipse along a path in Canada, Greenland and Siberia (https://skyandtelescope.org/wp-content/uploads/Annular-solar-eclipse-path-June-10-2021.jpg). Briefly described, an annular eclipse occurs when the Earth, the moon, and the sun are aligned, but the moon’s elliptical orbit has caused it to be a little further from Earth, so it doesn’t obscure not completely the sun. We then see a ring (ring) of the sun’s photosphere and chromosphere surrounding the moon. As with a total eclipse, observers outside the path will only see a partial eclipse.

Although we are far from the path of annularity, we will still experience a partial solar eclipse. The circumstances are unique for us, as the sun will rise above the already eclipsed eastern horizon. All times provided (AM / AM) below are calculated for Providence and reflect Eastern Daylight Time (Eastern Daylight Time).

For this event, you will only see the moon where it obscures the solar disk. If you could see the limb (edge) of the moon, it breaks the horizon at 5:13:05. The first cusp of the bright sun disk rises (the left part) around 5:14:16. Then the peak of sunlight on the right side will rise above the horizon at 5:15:54. The sun will rise from left to right as it ascends in the sky. An observer will only see the part of the moon that encroaches on the sun and sweeps it away. The solar disk will completely clear the horizon at 5:17:23. By that time, 53% of the solar surface will already be covered by the moon. As the sun and moon continue to rise, more and more of the sun’s disk will be covered by the moon. The average or maximum eclipse occurs at 5:32:48, when 72% of the solar surface will be obscured. Maximum obscuration occurs with the sun and moon just over three degrees above the horizon. After this time, the moon will begin to discover the sun and the eclipse will end at 6:31:49. At that time, the pair will be 13 degrees high. From start to finish for us in Rhode Island, the duration of this eclipse will be approximately one hour and 17 minutes.

See the attached diagram for how the eclipse will appear at specific times. Also check out the following website for an animation of how this partial solar eclipse will look from start to finish in the Providence area: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/providence?iso=20210610.

For the 2017 partial solar eclipse, as long as you had solar eclipse goggles or specially filtered telescopes, the eclipse was easy to observe because it was high in the sky. However, there will be some challenges in observing this event locally. First of all, you will need a breathtaking view of the east-northeast horizon. Second, and most importantly, be very careful. I know we all watch sunrises and sunsets through Earth’s dense atmosphere just above our local horizon, but don’t be tempted to watch the partial eclipse for a while. Although much of the sun is covered by the moon, harmful visible and invisible radiation will cause irreparable eye damage. Refrain from monitoring this event without appropriate filters or alternative observation methods.

Sunglasses will not provide adequate protection from the harmful rays of the sun. # 14 Welder’s Glass is safe to use. DO NOT use exposed film – if you are old enough to know what it is – of any kind. This method is not safe. In the previous columns on solar eclipse viewing, I explained to people how to build a solar eclipse viewer using a shoebox. I am not sure this method of observation will work effectively for this eclipse. With the sun so low, the resulting image may not be bright enough to project a reasonable image.

It is only if you are an experienced solar observer that you should try to observe this partial eclipse with a properly filtered telescope or by using the solar projection method. If you’ve never observed the sun before this event, don’t start now! Do not risk your eyesight because of an oversight or an outright mistake. Even if you own one of those department store refractors that often come with small glass or plastic filters, don’t be tempted to use them. They are known to shatter when exposed to the concentrated image of the sun.

The easiest method of observation by far will be to use these solar eclipse glasses. So if you didn’t heed my previous tips in the previous columns to locate yours from August 2017, you still have some time to do so.

Keep your eyes peeled for the sky, but don’t forget to protect them if you plan to witness the partial solar eclipse on June 10.

And finally, after more than four decades of enlightening the people of southern New England on astronomical events, here is my latest column. There have been many editors and meteorologists who have made it easier for me to encourage people to look up to the sky. I want to thank them all publicly, but I’m afraid I might inadvertently forget to include one or two important names. By including my entire column or parts of it as part of their press duties, they have all contributed to the education of many of our fellow citizens.

However, there are two people who deserve to be recognized for helping to improve my columns. The first is Jim Hendrickson. Jim is the newsletter editor and webmaster of Skyscrapers. Over the course of several decades Jim has provided countless star maps and other graphics to accompany my chronicles. The old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” should be doubled when referring to Jim’s contributions. Thanks Jim.

And last but not least, a big thank you to my wife Tina. She has been my editor for over 30 years. Her corrections and suggestions have earned her the nickname “Red Pen” Tina. Tina’s recommendations have always improved the finished product. Only a few times have we had a grammatical error, and rarely have I seen an editor make significant changes to my columns before printing them.

Thank you readers. Hope over the years you have found the time to watch a meteor shower, observe a lunar eclipse, or just gaze up at the sky and contemplate our place in our vast universe.

Please consider visiting local observatories once their Covid-19 protocols have been lifted.

Be well.

The author has been involved in observational astronomy in Rhode Island for over 35 years. He is a historian for Skyscrapers Inc., the second oldest active amateur astronomy company in the United States.