Viewing events, eyewear urged for ‘Ring of Fire’ – Boston.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—The western United States and eastern Asia will be treated this weekend to a rare solar spectacle when the moon slides across the sun, creating a “ring of fire.”
But scientists caution would-be viewers to be very careful because the sun’s damaging rays will remain powerful even during the annular solar eclipse. The advice: Either wear specially designed protective eyewear or attend a viewing event — at a planetarium or amateur astronomy club, for example — to avoid risk of serious eye injury.
The solar spectacle will first be seen in eastern Asia around dawn Monday, local time. Weather permitting, millions of early risers in southern China, northern Taiwan and southeast Japan will be able to catch the ring eclipse.
Then, the late day sun (on Sunday in the U.S.) will transform into a glowing ring in southwest Oregon, Northern California, central Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona and New Mexico and finally the Texas Panhandle.
For 3 1/2 hours, the eclipse follows an 8,500-mile path with the ring-of-fire phenomenon lasting as long as 5 minutes, depending on location.
Outside this narrow band, other parts of the U.S. and portions of Canada and Mexico will be treated to a partial eclipse. The Eastern Seaboard will be shut out, but people can find online sites that plan to broadcast the event live.
It’s impossible to know how many people plan to make an event of the ring-of-fire spectacle, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in the continental U.S. for nearly two decades.
One clue to demand might be found at the planetarium at the University of Nevada, Reno, which had to order another 10,000 solar viewing glasses after it sold out of them — 17,000 pairs at $ 2 each — last week.
Some online sites for viewing areas, with guidance on how best to observe the eclipse safely:
Fleischmann Planetarium at the University of Nevada, Reno: http://bit.ly/M5mV5b
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry: http://www.omsi.edu/node/743
Eclipse-watch party in Eugene, hosted by the Astronomical Society: http://www.eugeneastro.org/
.
© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Partial solar eclipse this evening – WLBT-TV
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The first annular solar eclipse in 18 years will take place this evening.
An annular solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, and at the peak of the eclipse, only a ring of fire is visible around the sun.
Peak viewing will be in the western part of the United States and overseas in Asia.
Locally, we are not in an ideal location to see much. We will also have sunset working against us. The eclipse will begin around 7:30pm our time. Sunset is at 7:55pm. As you can see, we won’t have much time to view it. The peak of the eclipse won’t take place until after sunset.
Despite the factors working against ideal viewing, assuming we are cloud-free, we should still be able to see a small part of the sun obscure. It won’t last long!
A word of caution…never, ever stare directly at the sun. Typical sunglasses will not properly protect your eyes. Radiation can severely damage your eyes and even cause you to go blind, so parents please caution your children if they plan to attempt to view the eclipse.
The best way to view the eclipse is to make a simple pinhole camera. If you are not sure how to do this, I have posted some directions on my Facebook page.
Copyright 2012 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Solar eclipse 2012: Fever is spreading to view historic event – Los Angeles Times
Solar eclipse fever was spreading Sunday.
Special solar eclipse glasses have sold out at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The city-run observatory is one of the few local places known to sell eclipse glasses, but its stock of 2,500 pairs ran out late Friday night, spokeswoman Susa Szotyori said.
“The glasses are completely gone,” Szotyori said. She said the observatory’s gift shop had fully expected to have plenty of glasses, which sold for $ 2.99 each, available through the Sunday eclipse. “They’re equally stunned as everyone,” she said.
One group in Japan is broadcasting live its ascent of Mt. Fuji to photograph the once-in-a-generation event.
Mt. Fuji, the highest point in Japan, is directly under the full path of the annular eclipse — one in which the moon blots out all but the sun’s outer edge, blocking all sunlight except for a “ring of fire.” (“Annular” means “ring” in Latin.)
The partial solar eclipse targeting L.A., beginning Sunday at 5:24 p.m. and reaching its maximum shadow at 6:38 p.m., will cover up about 85% of the sun’s diameter, leaving behind a very skinny C-shaped sun.
That’s because Sunday’s eclipse is the closest Los Angeles will be to a full eclipse for the next 59 years, according to calculations by NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak.
Best time to watch Sunday’s eclipse
And as a plus, weather conditions are promising for much of Southern California, although partly cloudy conditions are a risk at the coast on Sunday evening.
In 1992, when Los Angeles was supposed to be directly hit with a full “ring of fire” eclipse at sunset, many groaned when the clouds of an arriving winter storm marred the view for many expectant fans, including a crowd of 15,000 that had gathered at the Griffith Observatory.
For Los Angeles, there will be three other major partial solar eclipses between Sunday and 2071.
In 2023, 78% of the sun’s diameter will be blocked by the moon. The next two major shows will see the moon shadowing over 83% of the sun’s diameter in 2044 and 2045.The 2071 eclipse will cover up 91% of the sun’s diameter.
But for those who missed the full “ring of fire” eclipse in Los Angeles in 1992, that will be the last such eclipse to hit our area in our lifetime. The next one to hit Los Angeles will be in 2121. (A “ring” eclipse, or “annular” eclipse, is one where the moon blocks so much of the sun’s center that all that is left visible is a “ring of fire” on the sun’s outer edge. “Annular” means ring in Latin.)
If you care to travel several states over, you’re in luck for something better than a “ring” eclipse -– a total eclipse that will come to the continental United States in 2017.
Total eclipses are far more exciting because they will shroud the land in an eerie midday twilight. The Aug. 21, 2017 total eclipse will glide through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, northeastern Kansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, Tennessee, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and South Carolina.
Espenak has done similar eclipse calculations for other places: Chicago, New York City, Washington, Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, and Sydney.
Tweet your plans and photos to @latimes or @lanow with the hashtag #LATeclipse, or share your eclipse experience on our Facebook page. Let us know how your vantage point is. We’ll be compiling the best reader moments from the evening.
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– Rong-Gong Lin II
Photo: Alan Davenport, director of the University of Maine planetarium, photographs the sunrise solar eclipse with a 1250-mm mirror telescope from the top of Copeland Hill in Holden, Maine, on Aug. 11, 1999. At the time this picture was made the solar disc was 80 percent occluded by the moon. Credit: Bob DeLong / Bangor Daily News via Associated Press
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