A chunk of the sun will disappear across the northeastern United States tomorrow morning; however, there is nothing to fear: a solar eclipse will be unfolding. While portions of central northern Canada will see the full effects of the solar eclipse with a large part of the sun obstructed by the Moon, across the northeastern U.S.; the closer to Canada, the better the view. In places like New York City, 73% of the sun will be blocked, presenting an erie early morning sky.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the earth and the sun and blocks the incoming light. When the moon is far from the earth, also known as apogee, its size is too small to completely cover the sun and an annular eclipse is observed. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely obscures the sun. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth’s shadow is cast onto the Moon, blacking it from the night sky.
The North Pole will have the greatest view of this eclipse, with the amount of sun being blocked greatest there and over northern Russia and less as you head towards the U.S. Mid Atlantic. Because the eclipse occurs early in the morning, much of the central and western U.S. will miss out since the eclipse occurs before the sun rises in those locations.
NASA warns it is never safe to look directly at the Sun’s rays, even if the Sun is partly or mostly obscured. “When watching a partial solar eclipse or annular solar eclipse, you must wear solar viewing or eclipse glasses throughout the entire eclipse if you want to face the Sun. Solar viewing or eclipses glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the Sun,” NASA warns.
During a 2017 eclipse, Weatherboy.com distributed thousands of solar eclipses to people around the country. If the lenses aren’t scratched, folded, or creased, the solar eclipse glasses from that event are safe to use for this event. However, if the lens is any shape folded, scratched, cut, or bent, the 2017-issued glasses are no longer safe.
NASA suggests that if you don’t have solar viewing or eclipse glasses, you can use an alternate indirect method, such as a pinhole projector. Pinhole projectors shouldn’t be used to look directly at the Sun, but instead to project sunlight onto a surface.
The next major solar eclipse event to impact the U.S. will occur on April 8, 2024. Referred to by some as the “Great American Eclipse”, that event will completely obscure the sun over a large part of the country; beyond the area of totality that will see total darkness, much of the country will have at least a partial eclipse that day.