Professional Pilot, May 2017

Orbit of the Earth telescope binoculars camera or other optical device And once again the filters used with optical devices must be the proper filters designed for direct viewing of the Sun One can also view the partial eclipse by projecting images of the Sun using simple pinhole or equivalent devices You can put a small hole in a piece of cardboard and project an image of the Sun onto a sidewalk or a piece paper Or try the fun example of putting one hand with fingers partially spread over the other hand with fingers partially spread forming a waffle pattern Now put your back to the Sun and look at the shadow of your hands on the ground The numerous holes between your fingers will form a series of images of the partial eclipse showing bright circles with dark bites taken out of them Heres what you will see Once you are safely observing you will gradually see the Moon cross in front of the Sun during the partial eclipse phase It will look like larger and larger bites being taken out of the Sun Then the Moon will begin to move off of the disk of the Sun The farther you are from the path of totality the smaller the amount of the Sun that will be blocked out at the maximum point As the Moon slowly moves across the Sun over 2 to 3 hours dont forget to take a little time to ponder this rare celestial event Youre seeing the effect of the Moon 400000 km away passing in front of the gigantic Sun which is 96 PROFESSIONAL PILOT May 2017 Orbit of the Moon 150 million km away If you are along the path of totality the show will be even more spectacular for the 2 minutes or so that the Moon completely covers the main disk of the Sun Just before the Moon completely covers the Sun there is a moment referred to as The Diamond Ring which is when the last rays of the Sun illuminate just 1 part of the circle And at the beginning and end of the total eclipse one also may see a sight known as Bailys Beads where sunlight streams through topographic gaps in the edge of the Moon such as canyons But what about totality itself It sounds like the trailer to a horror movie but much more impressive and considerably less dangerous Day will turn into night birds may stop singing sunset will appear all around you stars and planets will become visible in the darkened sky and the otherwise hidden solar corona will become visible as white rays streaming out from around the dark lunar disk A total solar eclipse is truly one of natures most amazing sights As you get swept away dont forget that once the sunlight starts appearing from around the Moon you need to put solar glasses back on Let me emphasize that in terms of viewing there is a huge difference between being where the Moon blocks 100 of the Sun the path of totality or being where the Moon blocks 99 of the Sun That little bit of sunlight will wipe out the more profound effects that would be seen in the path of totality Other opportunities Eclipses can be predicted very far in advance very accurately but weather cannot The specter of disappointment wields the weapon of clouds Just a forewarning that if you do everything else right weather can still block out an eclipse So what are your opportunities if weather defeats you this time Or if you just love it so much that you want to watch as many eclipses as you can For every total solar eclipse there are tours that will take you to the locations you need to go even if those are viewing from cruise ships in the middle of an ocean There are people that love the experience so much that they will hunt down every possible solar eclipse The next total solar eclipse is Jul 2 2019 and it will be visible from portions of Argentina and Chile Those of us in North America also dont need to wait too long for another total solar eclipse at least as these things go because on Apr 8 2024 a total solar eclipse will cross the central United States as well as portions of Mexico and Canada Also keep in mind that there will also be numerous online streaming events that you can follow live during the solar eclipse Conclusion Solar eclipses particularly total solar eclipses are spectacular displays put on by the cosmos It may be challenging to get reservations along the path of totality at this point but its well worth the effort Depending on their situation pilots may also have the option of flying into an airport along the path of totality and just watching from the airport itself Whether you are able to watch the partial eclipse the total eclipse or have to watch online I hope you enjoy this cosmic spectacle The general geometry of a solar eclipse at one point in time People in the umbral shadow of the Moon will see a total eclipse while those in the penumbral shadow will see a partial eclipse Sun Penumbra Umbra Bruce Betts PhD is a planetary scientist with degrees from Stanford and Caltech He is Director of Science and Technology at The Planetary Society and has done research focused on infrared studies of planetary surfaces He also managed planetary instrument development programs at NASA Headquarters