Rome not in totality path for eclipse
Todd Timberlake, an astronomy professor at Berry College, explains how best to safely watch the eclipse.
Over the course of next Monday, a giant mooncast shadow will make its way across the continental United States. The “Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017” as it is being called, will be the first time since 1979 that a total solar eclipse will be seen from the contiguous part of the nation.
Unfortunately for locals, Todd Timberlake explained, Northwest Georgia is not in the path of totality for this year’s eclipse.
Timberlake, professor and department chair of physics, astronomy, and geology at Berry College, told his assembled audience in the McAllister auditorium on Tuesday night that the local area will still see a 97.6 percent covering of the sun by the moon.
Timberlake said that “first contact” of the moon starting to come between the sun and Earth will occur at 1:04 p.m. The time of “max eclipse” — or the point at which conditions will be the closest to a total eclipse — will be 2:35 p.m. The professor said models predict that the moon will have completely finished traveling across the sky in front of the sun by 4 p.m.
What’s the best way to experience this extremely rare phenomena? Timberlake said that if one is planning on traveling the short distance up to either the Tennessee, northeastern Georgia, or South Carolina areas in the predicted path of totality, it’s pretty much wishful thinking.
“It’s all booked. Whatever you were looking for — parking lots, state parks, hotels — everything is booked and full. It’s been crazy,” he said.
Timberlake said that for those anywhere within range of being able to see the eclipse, proper equipment is necessary. Special ISO-certified lenses on eyewear are the only completely sure way to avoid getting eye damage when looking directly at the eclipse.
He recommended that people avoid using welding glasses, even though those are said to work in place of sunglasses. He said that even though some types may work, the variations mean it’s impossible to know for sure which pairs will work and which won’t.
Associates from both Rome Wal-Marts confirmed that their stores are completely sold out
next week. An associate from the Dollar General on Redmond Circle said their store still had quite a few pairs left in stock, and Ace Hardware on Turner McCall says they are expecting a new shipment within the next couple of days. Readers are advised to call firsts to check on supplies at their nearby stores.
If all else fails, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson recommends holding a spaghetti strainer near the ground and watching the images it creates below, like a pinhole camera.
Timberlake said an interesting thing about Rome’s location in relation with the placing of the moon and sun is the probability that viewers will be able to see Venus to the west of the main action.
Berry College will be hosting a viewing event on Monday at Valhalla Stadium that will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. representative from the Lowe’s on Shorter Avenue said they were also sold out of sunglasses and wouldn’t get more until of sunglasses and won’t be getting more shipments in until after the eclipse.
A customer service