So this is pretty exciting. As most of you likely already know, there is going to be a Solar Eclipse crossing North America in the morning of Monday, the 21st of August. Below I have compiled some details you will need. Click through to see more.
NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. IT CAN BURN YOUR EYES EVEN DURING AN ECLIPSE. USE EYE PROTECTION. MORE ON THAT BELOW.
WHERE TO GO IF YOU WANT TO SEE TOTALITY
If you don’t already know, the “path of totality” for the eclipse is very narrow. So while we in Port Alberni will see a partial eclipse, (86% ain’t bad!), we will not see the famous ‘ring of fire’ around the moon.
If you want to see the sun completely blotted out, you need to head just south of Portland, Oregon. Salem appears to be one of the lucky cities right in the middle of the path of totality! (Creepy!)
It will go dark there for nearly 2 minutes! You can get down there and back for a day, but I bet the ferries are going to be packed and so will the highways I bet. You’ll be cutting it pretty close if you don’t go down the day before. So if that is your plan, I hope you’ve already booked! 🙂 If anyone from Port Alberni does go down, please feel free to send pictures!
VIEWING IN PORT ALBERNI
If you are sticking around in Port Alberni, fear not! Not only should the weather be perfect for viewing on Monday morning, Vancouver Islanders are going to see more of the eclipse than almost anyone in Canada!
If you want to see the absolute most in Canada, head to Victoria. There, the moon will blot out 89% of the sun. But it will be bonkers down there and… what’s 3%? 😉
According to Timeanddate.com the eclipse will begin in Port Alberni at precisely 9:08AM and 54 seconds. You can see the details below.
It will take 2 hours, 26 minutes and 18 seconds for the entire event.
The maximum, 86.36% coverage, will happen at exactly 10:19AM and 13 seconds.
NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. IT CAN BURN YOUR EYES EVEN DURING AN ECLIPSE. USE EYE PROTECTION. MORE ON THAT BELOW.
The event will end just over an hour later at 11:35:12AM.
HOW TO VIEW THE ECLIPSE.
Again, NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. SUNGLASSES ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH EITHER.
We have all heard it a million times (you have now heard it a million and three times 🙂 ). We can’t look directly at the eclipse. So how do we do it. Well, there are a lot of ways to safely see it if you can’t get your hands on special ‘eclipse’ glasses. Here are some from timeanddate.com:
SIMPLEST: A CARD/PAPER PROJECTOR.
By far the easiest way to see the eclipse is just with a piece of stiff, white paper or cardboard!
Poke a pinhole in the middle of the cardboard and have a piece of regular white paper on the ground or a table and then point the cardboard at the sun. You will end up with a projection of the sun on the paper!
BOX PROJECTOR
This is the one we all learned in school! All you need is a long box big enough for your head to protrude through! This was probably easier when we were little. 🙂
PROJECT IT USING BINOCULARS OR A TELESCOPE
This one is pretty easy. Take a pair of binoculars and a large sheet of cardboard. Cut out holes in the cardboard so the binocular lenses poke through. Cover one lens. Put a sheet of white paper on a table or the ground and point the binoculars (without looking into them!) toward the sun until you see the sun on the sheet of paper. Easy! 🙂
HAVE A WELDERS MASK/GOGGLES?
Information from NASA says you can use a Welders Mask that has shading of at least #12, #13, or #14. Anything lower than that can harm your eyes. Anything higher and you might not be able to see it!
THE WEATHER FORECAST
The models expect all of the South Coast to be cloud free on Monday!
Lets hope it’s right!
Happy viewing!
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