Friday, August 18, 2017

A Great American Event..Total Solar Eclipse




The post this week has to be dedicated to a history making event.
A total solar eclipse will sweep across the United States. An
astronomical phenomena? Absolutely! You may have seen  
photos in the past, but this you can't ignore. Crossing our nation 
from coast to coast, a 2500 mile path, the time start to finish will 
run four hours 

Three things cannot be long hidden:
  The sun, the moon, and the truth.
                               ~ Buddha




What you see depends on where you are, or might want to travel to.
Nashville, Tennessee or Hopkinsville, Kentucky are ideal spots if 
you live in Ohio and want to keep it within a reasonable driving 
range. Kentucky experiences the longest eclipse time at just over 
minutes and 41 seconds. In Ohio we will only see a partial eclipse.
About 90%of the sun will be blocked.



Here are some fun facts about the solar eclipse.
*Weather is a factor! A cloudy day will hurt your viewing chances. 
*What is a total solar eclipse? The moon passes between Earth
  and the sun, and appears to cover the sun. It will block the sun's 
  light. Not everyone will see a total eclipse but will experience a 
  partial one.
*What is a syzygy? An astronomy term, it is the alignment of the  
  earth, new moon and the sun, resulting in an eclipse.
*The first recorded eclipse was in China 4000 years ago. They
  thought it was a dragon eating the sun. (from astronomer 
  Derek Kief, H.R. Macmillan Space Center)
*The last time a total eclipse swept across the entire USA was in
  1918. This total eclipse will be the first visible from the 
  contiguous United States since 1979.

It is only during an eclipse that the Man in the Moon has a place
in the sun.
                ~ Anonymous



To avoid serious eye damage, you must take precaution when
viewing the solar eclipse. Everyone viewing needs to wear
special solar glasses or you can use filtered welder's glasses.
The sunlight can burn the retina leading to long term or
permanent damage. Caution your children. Don't look at a
partial eclipse through unfiltered binoculars or a telescope.
Look for special eclipse glasses online or check out your
local library for free ones. Several local grocery stores had 
them available as well. Make your own pinhole projector
by using 2 sheets of paper. Instructions online. There are 
eclipse events being planned locally so that is a safe option 
as well. View online by checking out the NASA website and 
Space.com. Here's the information I received by plugging 
in my zip code. The moon cover will be 88% of the sun. The 
moon will be in the sun's path starting at 1:01pm and 
continue for 2hours and 48minutes. The best time to see the 
peak of the eclipse will be 2:28pm. It's great specific 
information for your area.




Monday expect traffic to be heavy as thousands are traveling.
Millions of eyes will be looking upward as the sun disappears 
from the sky. The animals and insects will react as if the sun
is setting. It will be as dark as sunset is. It will happen 
whether you want it to or not. It will not be as be as you
suspect but something more....



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