Solar eclipse to put on a celestial show

Southwest Florida Astronomical Society member Mike Jensen took this photo of the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017. MIKE JENSEN / COURTESY PHOTO

In the middle of the day on April 8, parts of the United States will plunge in total darkness. A total solar eclipse will move across 14 states. While Florida won’t be in the most spectacular path, part of the moon’s shadow will cover the sun. That means Floridians can participate in some of the spectacle, but still need to remain safe while doing so.

The total solar eclipse will start in South-central Texas, going northeast and exiting America atop Maine. Dallas/ Fort Worth, Little Rock, Evansville, Indianapolis, Dayton, Cleveland, Buffalo and Burlington are within its direct 130-mile-wide route.

Here in southern Florida, we will see a partial eclipse. About half of the sun will be obscured. It will start around 1:48 p.m. and reach its peak at 3:03 p.m. The eclipse will be over by 4:15 p.m.

The most recent solar eclipse over the United States, from Oregon to South Carolina on Aug. 21, 2017, blocked a maximum of 80% of the sun for Southwest Florida eyes according to Southwest Florida Astronomical Society (SFAS) ( www.theeyepiece.org ) President Brian Risley.

Southwest Florida Astronomical Society member Mike Jensen took this sequence of photos of the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, with a Canon DSLR 7DMKII camera and a 400mm lens equipped with a teleconverter. MIKE JENSEN / COURTESY PHOTO

Florida eclipse chasers

The draw of a total eclipse has Floridians making travel plans, hoping to be in good weather to experience darkness during the totality phase.

Joe Dermody, a SFAS member who also serves as a NASA Solar System Ambassador, will be in the direct path on a cruise ship off Mazatlán, Mexico. He should know what to expect, Dermody has viewed eight previous eclipses.

“You’ll see colors in the minutes before [a total eclipse] that you’ve never seen before, due to polarization,” said the former electronics engineer and seasonal resident from Michigan. “Watch for animal behavior. Insects get louder in the hour before and then … silence! Do a 360-degree turn to observe total shadows.”

For those in the path of the total eclipse, they’ll see “Baily’s beads, the sun shining through valleys of the moon, bright spots as well as a diamond ring effect,” added Risley.

The Cox Science Center and Aquarium, in Palm Beach County, along with the Marmot Observatory, will host a viewing of the partial solar eclipse on April 8. The center presents celestial events year-round like this recent NASA Day. COX SCIENCE CENTER AND AQUARIUM / PHOTO COURTESY

Dermody traveled to Idaho seven years ago. “It was one of the best spots in the country,” he recalled.

Tom Segur, who heads up the society’s utilization of the Moore Observatory at the Florida SouthWestern College Charlotte Campus along with outdoor daylight sessions in area parks, hopes to have better luck in seeing a total eclipse this time around. In 2017, he was rained on after he flew to Kansas City and then drove to St. Joseph’s, Missouri.

In early April, the retired meteorologist plans to fly to South Carolina to meet his brother who already drove here in January to pick up Tom’s 60-millimeter refractor scope with a solar filter, and then they’ll drive together to get in the total eclipse path “somewhere between Louisville and Indianapolis. I’m not going to let this opportunity pass by!”

Denise Sabatini, former president and a current director of the Naples-based Everglades Astronomical Society (EAS) ( www.evergladesastronomicalsociety.org ), plans to drive to Syracuse, New York, where she has family and then to Rochester to be in the direct path for her fifth total eclipse. “If it rains, at least I’ll be with family and friends.”

The Southwest Florida Astronomical Society holds special observation events for members and the public year-round, including in Rotary Park in Cape Coral. SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY / COURTESY PHOTO

What (and how) South Florida will see

South Florida will be “in the penumbra area with the moon covering about 52% of the sun’s disk at 3 p.m., which is ‘mideclipse,’” said Dermody. “Not enough of the sun’s disc will be covered to notice the decrease in sunlight, but there will be interesting sights. Using a safe solar filter or ‘eclipse glasses,’ the disk of the moon will first appear at the edge of the disk of the sun at 1:44 p.m., partially covering the sun until 4:15 p.m.”

With proper devices, it may be possible to observe sunspots “slowly covered and uncovered by the moon.”

Risley and some other SFAS members plan to set up several telescopes in Centennial Park in Fort Myers for public viewing on the big afternoon.

“We are going to get to see coronas [the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere], prominence around the edges,” said Risley. “We had lots of sunspots last time.”

On its grounds on April 8, the Calusa Planetarium, at the Calusa Nature Center in Fort Myers, will set up its Coronado solar telescope and provide eclipse glasses for a small fee from noon to 4:30 p.m.

The West Palm Beach-based Cox Science Center and Aquarium ( www.coxsciencecenter.org ), along with the Marmot Observatory, will allow enthusiasts to view the partial solar eclipse on April 8 through its 10-foot refracting telescope with solar filters, South Florida’s largest publicly available telescope, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The special viewing, along with eclipse-themed presentations, will be included with regular admission fee.

The facility will also provide a limited number of solar viewing glasses for use outside.

Eye safety

Eye safety is paramount. According to NASA, you must look at the eclipse through safe solar viewing glasses, or a handheld solar viewer. Eclipse glasses are not regular sunglasses. Sunglasses, no matter how dark, will not give you enough protection to look at the sun.

NASA adds if you’re using cameras, telescopes or binoculars, ensure they also have proper solar filters. Even looking at the sun through these devices without proper protection could cause eye damage.

Dermody further warned of “the danger that you are more likely to look directly at the sun for extended periods of time, or worse, use optical equipment to observe the eclipse, risking permanent eye damage which can occur in seconds, without you feeling any pain. Throughout the partial eclipse as seen from Fort Myers, eclipse glasses must be worn to observe the sun. Only ISO 12312-2 (aka ISO 12312:2015) eclipse glasses or filters from a reputable source should be considered safe.”

He added, “do not use welder’s goggles, smoked glass, photographic or X-ray film, ordinary or multiple sunglasses, neutral density or polarizing filters like those made for camera lenses, ‘space blankets,’ potato chip bags, DVDs, CDs or any homemade filters.”

All eclipses “are amazing and different … time of day, path they take, how long they last, and more,” summarized Dermody. “It’s emotionally overwhelming.”

For those planning further ahead, a total solar eclipse will occur closer to us on Aug. 12, 2045, passing through central Florida from the Panhandle to Miami.

Year-round stargazing

If the eclipse sparks an interest in the sky, Florida provides plenty of opportunities to stargaze.

¦ The SFAS opens the Moore Observatory, in Charlotte County, on the second Friday of each month for early evening stargazing sessions. They also set up solar telescopes every fourth Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon to look for solar flares, prominences and other solar phenomena, including on April 27 at Bayshore Live Oak Park and May 25 at Gilchrist Park.

¦ Members host monthly daytime observances of the sun, especially looking for solar flares, in area parks; monthly star parties at Seahawk Park in Cape Coral including on April 6 and May 4; and go stargazing at Big Cypress National Park in Collier County and Caloosahatchee Regional Park in Lee County.

¦ The EAS holds evening meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at the Collier Government Center (corner of Airport Road and Orange Blossom) that are open to the public and periodic observation events for members and guests during dark-sky nights.

¦ The Cox Science Center also hosts space-related shows on a year-round basis. ¦

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