Appeal Tribune Wednesday, August 16, 2017 3B
25 burning questions about solar eclipses
DOYLE RICE
USA TODAY
The most hyped solar eclipse in Amer-
ican history will be breaching Oregon’s
coast and making its way across the
country in less than a month.
As you prepare to journey into the
path of totality, or take a look up as you go
about your day, here are the important
things you need to know about the spec-
tacular event:
AP
This March 9, 2016, file photo shows a total
solar eclipse in Belitung, Indonesia.
during a partial eclipse — special eclipse
glasses must be worn, though welder’s
goggles or similar eye protection also
work. That’s because the sun’s surface is
so bright that if you stare at any portion
of it, no matter how small, it produces
enough light to permanently damage
your retina. Our eyes never evolved to
look at the sun without suffering severe
damage. Regular sunglasses are also not
safe to use.
Can you take a photo of the
eclipse with your smartphone?
First, what is a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon
passes between the sun and the Earth at a
particular angle. The moon blocks the
light from the sun, casting a shadow on
the Earth that, in the path of totality,
turns day into twilight. It’s only by coin-
cidence that the moon is able to do this.
The sun is 400 times wider than the
moon, but it is also 400 times farther
away, so they appear to be the same size
in the sky.
When is the Great American
Eclipse?
August 21, visible in Oregon from
10:15 a.m. to 10:27 a.m.
average more than 1,600 mph, but it will
actually slow down as it travels across
the country because of the relationship
between the earth’s and moon’s rotations
and the planet’s curvature. In Oregon,
the speed will top 2,200 mph, just less
than three times the speed of sound.
How many people will be able
see the total eclipse?
An estimated 12 million people live
within the path of totality, though many
more are expected to travel to within the
path. The number of people within one
day’s drive of the totality zone is around
200 million.
What will I see during a total
solar eclipse?
When was the last total solar
eclipse visible in Oregon?
It was on Feb. 26, 1979, which also
crossed Washington, Idaho, Montana
and North Dakota, a day on which the
weather was described as “bleak.”
Is this the only total solar eclipse
visible in Oregon during my
lifetime?
Yes, it probably is. The next total solar
eclipse in the U.S. will be on April 8, 2024,
but the path of totality only crosses the
country from Texas to New England.
More total eclipses in the U.S. will follow
in 2044, 2045 and 2078, but those will also
miss the Beaver State.
During a total solar eclipse, as the
disk of the moon blocks out the last sliver
of light from the sun, the sun’s outer
atmosphere, the corona, becomes visi-
ble. The corona isn’t an indistinct haze;
sky watchers report seeing great jets
and ribbons of light, twisting and curling
out into the sky.
How does nature respond to a
total eclipse?
Plants and animals act as though night
is falling, as flowers close up and birds
return to roost. The temperature can
drop 10 degrees or more, and it feels
much cooler if there’s a breeze.
Why is this called the “Great
American Eclipse?”
Where will a partial solar eclipse
be visible?
This is the first total solar eclipse to
only pass over the United States and no
other nation since the country was
founded.
If you’re not in the “path of totality,”
you’ll still get a chance to see a partial
eclipse, when only a part of the sun is
blocked by the moon. A partial eclipse
will be visible in all of North America,
parts of South America, western Europe
and Africa. While a partial eclipse is still
cool, you won’t notice your surroundings
getting dark.
How long will the solar eclipse
last?
It will take 91 minutes for the eclipse
to cross the country, but it will only be
visible for a couple minutes at any given
location.
Where is the “path of totality?”
The shadow of the moon as it entirely
blocks the sun’s light will sweep across
parts of 12 states: Oregon, Idaho, Wyo-
ming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illi-
nois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia,
North Carolina and South Carolina.
Some Oregon cities in the path in-
clude: Lincoln City, Newport, Dallas, Sa-
lem, Albany, Lebanon, Sweet Home, Ma-
dras, Fossil, Baker City and Ontario.
How “fast” is the eclipse?
The speed of the moon’s shadow will
Could this be the most-viewed
eclipse ever?
Astronomy magazine says yes, basing
this proclamation on four factors: 1) The
attention it is getting from the media; 2)
The superb coverage of the highway sys-
tem in our country; 3) The typical weath-
er on that date; and 4) The vast number of
people who will have access to it from
nearby large cities.
How can you look at the solar
eclipse?
The only moment it’s safe to look di-
rectly at the eclipse is during the 2-3 min-
utes when the sun is completely behind
the moon. Before and after that — and
Technically yes, but the quality will
be rather poor, since smartphone cam-
eras were not designed with astropho-
tography in mind. For a good photo-
graph, you’ll need a higher quality cam-
era, a telephoto lens and a solar filter for
the lens. Just like how the sun can dam-
age your eyes, it can also destroy camera
sensors, so a filter is particularly neces-
sary during the moments before and af-
ter totality. If this is your first eclipse,
many eclipse watchers suggest putting
down the camera and just experiencing
it in the moment. Most of the best shots
you’ll see will be taken with professional
DSLR cameras on tripods, or even shot
through a telescope.
Will there be “eclipse tourists?”
Absolutely. In Oregon alone there are
dozens of events in towns all along the
path of totality trying to capitalize on this
event. Vineyards are offering packages
to camp and drink wine for several
nights. The Oregon State Fairgrounds in
Salem are having a viewing party. Orga-
nizers of the SolarFest in Madras are
calling it “a rare, mind-blowing cosmic
experience.” There are even eclipse con-
certs planned. But most of these events
are, at this point, sold out.
No, there’s no evidence that eclipses
have any physical effect on humans.
However, throughout history, eclipses
have been known to produce profound
psychological effects. For millennia,
they were sometimes interpreted as por-
tents of doom by countless civilizations.
Why are solar eclipses so rare?
It takes three celestial bodies (the
sun, moon and Earth), all of which are on
various orbital paths, to line up in the ex-
act way at the right time to create an
eclipse. On average, a total eclipse is vis-
ible from any one spot on Earth about
once every 375 years. In the U.S., it takes
about 1,000 years for every geographic
location in the Lower 48 to be able to view
a total solar eclipse. So you must be in
just the right place at just the right time
to observe a total solar eclipse.
How are eclipses predicted?
Astronomers first must work out the
geometry and paths of the Earth and
moon as they orbit around the sun, math-
ematically figuring out the motions of
each of the three bodies in three-dimen-
sional space. Astronomers then feed the
current positions and speeds of the
Earth, moon and sun into a computer,
programming it to calculate their future
paths in relation to one another and what
will be the view from the vantage point
of us down here on Earth. Eclipses are
specific predictions of where the three
bodies will be at an exact time and place.
Current eclipse forecasts are accurate
to less than a minute.
How many total solar eclipses
are there each year?
There is one somewhere on Earth
roughly every 18 months.
Will traffic be bad on Aug. 21?
When was the first solar eclipse?
Yes. Definitely yes. This could be one
of the worst traffic days in U.S. history,
some NASA representatives predict. Be-
tween 1 and 2 million people are expect-
ed to come into Oregon, and that’s not
even including the many people who live
in the state expected to drive into the
path of totality. Public safety officials
expect 125,000 to 500,000 people to enter
the Salem area, seriously straining the
city’s infrastructure.
Solar eclipses have occurred ever
since the Earth, sun and moon have been
around, but it took a while before anyone
was here to record them. According to
inscriptions on a monument in Ireland,
people there were noticing eclipses
about 5,000 years ago. Eclipses were also
recorded in ancient China, Babylonia
and Greece.
What cities have highest
likelihood of clear viewing
conditions?
Based on historical weather condi-
tions, folks in Idaho, Wyoming and Ne-
braska will have the best chance of clear
skies. Casper, Wyo., has an 88 percent
chance of clear skies on Aug. 21.
What cities have highest
likelihood of cloudy viewing
conditions?
Both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts
could see cloudy conditions. Increased
cloud cover will also be possible as the
eclipse travels across the country east of
the Mississippi River. Both Nashville
and Columbia have a 44% chance of
clear skies.
Do solar eclipses affect humans?
Are there other kinds of
eclipses?
Yes, a few, including annular eclipses,
hybrid solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.
An annular eclipse occurs when the
moon covers the sun’s center, leaving the
sun’s visible outer edge to form a “ring of
fire” or “annulus” around the moon. A
hybrid eclipse shifts between a total and
annular eclipse: At certain points on the
Earth, it’s a total eclipse, whereas at oth-
er points it appears as annular. Finally, a
lunar eclipse is when the Earth blocks
sunlight from getting to the moon.
Connor Radnovich of the Statesman
Journal contributed to this report. He
can
be
contacted
at
cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or
503-399-6864, or followed on Twitter at
@CDRadnovich.
Sources: NASA, NOAA, Astronomy-
.com, AstronomyToday.com, Sky and
Telescope, Space.com, “Get Eclipsed” by
Pat and Fred Espenak.
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