Fla. to see only partial solar eclipse this weekend
Earth’s only natural satellite will shade the center of the sun on Saturday, creating a blazing halo of light in the sky from the sea cliffs of Oregon’s coast to the beaches of Corpus Christi, Texas.
In South Florida, about 60% of the midday sun will be covered by the moon, enough to cast surreal specters on the ground and leave a lingering crescent of black overhead near midday. The Oct. 14 annular solar eclipse, which is dubbed the “ring of fire” because the distant moon will not fully cover the sun, will begin at 11:56 a.m. in West Palm Beach with the deepest point of the eclipse occurring at 1:32 p.m.
All 48 contiguous states, plus Alaska, will be able to see part of the eclipse, but the amount of darkness wanes farther from the direct path, which passes through Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas. In northern Maine, just 10% of the sun will be blocked by the moon, while San Diego will see about 70% of the sun blocked.
Florida Atlantic University astronomer Eric Vandernoot, a veteran eclipse watcher, is less excited about Saturday’s celestial show than the total solar eclipse in 2017 and the upcoming total solar eclipse in April 2024.
Still, he will be hosting an event at the FAU observatory, 777 Glades Road, building 43, from noon to 3 p.m. He will have solar eclipse sunglasses to give out and there will be telescopes with special filters to watch the event.
“I would recommend coming here so you can look at it safely,” Vandernoot said. “I don’t want people staring at the sun in any way, shape or form.”
Don’t look at partial eclipse without special protective glasses
It is not safe to watch the event with
out special protective eclipse glasses. Even sunglasses won’t keep out damaging rays that can burn a hole through the retina.
Vandernoot said glasses left over from the August 2017 total solar eclipse probably are no longer viable protection.
The Cox Science Center & Aquarium, in West Palm Beach, will be hosting a livestream event in its lobby for the eclipse beginning around 11 a.m. and will have astronomers available to answer questions. The telescope will not be open for viewing.
Because South Florida will only see a partial eclipse, Vandernoot said people are unlikely to notice the event if they don’t know to look for it.
“There won’t be any change in light levels,” he said.
“But if you happen to walk outside and go under the shadow of a tree, the light passing through the gaps of leaves will leave the projection of a crescent sun on the ground.”
It’s the same concept as creating a making a pinhole viewer that projects an image of the eclipse onto the ground. You can also simply hold up both hands with fingers overlapping at right angles to create the equivalent of pin holes.
William Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office, said Saturday’s eclipse is the most notable solar eclipse in the United States since Aug. 21, 2017 when the moon covered the sun completely in a path from Newport, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina.
In South Florida, about 80% of the sun was covered during the 2017 event.
Before that, the last total solar eclipse viewed in the United States was in February 1979, but it crossed only six states in the northwestern part of the country.
The next total solar eclipse is on April 8, 2024 and will cross the United States from Texas to Maine and up through Canada.
Cooke called Saturday’s event the “warm-up act” for 2024.
“If you are in the path of annularity, there will be a nice ‘ring of fire’ at maximum eclipse,” Cooke said in an email. “That’s pretty cool.”
Eugene, Oregon is in the direct path and will see the moon cover the center of the sun for four minutes. Eugene was just south of the path of totality in 2017.
The reason only the sun’s center is covered by the moon is because the moon is at apogee to the Earth, meaning it’s farther away. That allows the edges of the sun to leak around the edge, creating the ring of fire.
“This one isn’t full but it’s still pretty awesome in terms of near totality and the ring of fire,” said Andy Vobora, vice president of stakeholder relations with the Travel Lane County tourism service, which includes Eugene. “Hopefully we get a clear day.”