Don’t settle for the ordinary tomorrow morning, Saturday, Oct. 14.
I’ve got something unique for you — starting at about 8 a.m. That’s when you’ll start to see — if the weather is clear — a solar eclipse, and you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy the show.
Just bring your sense of wonder and DON’T, double DON’T, ever look at the sun with your naked eye or with sunglasses.
You need specially prepared glasses, and it’s probably too late to order them. And know that we here in South Pasadena aren’t getting the whole show, or even the “ring of fire” around the moon that makes this eclipse extra-special.
By the time you read this, you’ll have to jump in your car and hurry to New Mexico, Texas or Utah, just to name a few of the best locations to see the ring of fire effect caused by the annular eclipse.
We’ll be getting about a 70% view of the eclipse, which means it won’t get dark, but you might see some strangely shaped shadows coming from the trees and reflected onto the ground, which only take place during partial eclipses.
The partial eclipse will be seen in South Pasadena from about 8:07 a.m. to 10:51 a.m., with the full effect of the eclipse coming into view at about 9:18 a.m., which will last for about 3.5 minutes.
I’ve seen a partial eclipse, and it is a sight worth the wait.
“There’s almost a spirituality to it,” said Kate Howells, who is with The Planetary Society based in Pasadena. “It’s a reminder that we live in a grand universe where wonderful things happen, and we can experience magnificent things.
“We’re so lucky that we live on a planet where this happens. It’s a stroke of luck that almost feels miraculous.”
Some people can’t get enough of miraculous. They become eclipse groupies — going wherever they can to catch an eclipse in the way some people throng to see Bruce Springsteen or Taylor Swift.
Eclipse groupies are hoping for a sunny day to watch Saturday’s eclipse, and while they are watching this year’s version, many observers will be planning trips for next year’s total eclipse on April 8.
Howells said that one of the best places to see April’s total eclipse may be in Texas, and The Planetary Society is already planning a tour when the total eclipse will be seen moving in a path across the United States.
Another place where the total eclipse might be visible, depending on the weather, is Indiana. I have a friend who lives near Indianapolis, who told me her library has already told employees that it will be closed that day, and hotels are filling up amid rising rates. A local university is even hosting an eclipse festival.
Howells said there is bad news for those who want to see it from here next year. In fact, South Pasadena may get only a 50% view of next year’s eclipse — making the effect seem even less dramatic than we’ll get this year.
What we are going to experience Saturday is what scientists call an annular eclipse, and the ring of fire happens when the moon is at its farthest point in its elliptical orbit. The moon is partially blocking the view of the sun, but doesn’t entirely obscure it, leaving a ring of fire around it.
Even if we’re only seeing 70% of the annular eclipse, it’s still rare. They occur only three to five times a year — somewhere on the planet.
Howells, a public education specialist based in Ontario (that’s Canada, and not the city up the road), suggested a number of ways, including simple ways to experience the eclipse without treated glasses. She said you can use a small hole in a piece of cardboard and observe the shape on the sidewalk or ground. Then you can look at the trees, as noted above, and see the light come in as crescents rather than in their normal patterns.
“One thing I like to do is use a colander that you might use for straining pasta and hold it up as the eclipse occurs,” Howells suggested. “The shapes will be crescents rather than round.” It’s extremely important with these methods to never look directly through the hole at the sun; only look at the shadow of what you’re holding up to see how the sun’s light comes through the holes.
You could, of course, follow the eclipse at the websites mentioned in this column.
Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles will have some solar observing telescopes and the eclipse can be seen on its website.
While learning about eclipses, Howells was also educating me about The Planetary Society. It’s the low-slung building at 60 S. Los Robles in Pasadena, and it was headquartered here, she said, because many of its founders worked at the nearby NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The JPL website, by the way, is also a great way to learn about eclipses and other things in the sky.
The Planetary Society, led by Bill Nye, claims to be the world’s largest nonprofit space organization, engaging more than 2 million space enthusiasts around the world.
“Our mission is to give people a role in space exploration and to educate people about what’s going on in space,” Howells said. “It’s an international organization, which develops articles, videos, online courses and virtual seminars with space experts.”
Howells said that The Planetary Society is also an advocacy group, which works to advance funding for space exploration.
“The good thing about space exploration is that it is not a divisive issue,” Howells said. “It’s very bipartisan, which is rare in today’s government. The difficulty is that budgets are always tight, and space is often considered a discretionary item which always stands the risk of being cut.
“So anytime we have something that involves space — whether it be the photos from the Webb telescope to eclipses — it becomes part of the dialogue and we get more people interested in the subject.”
So, take time Saturday and make space to experience a sense of wonder. And the timing is just right if you want to bring along breakfast or brunch.
For information about the eclipse and other topics involving space exploration, you can also visit the JPL website, jpl.nasa.gov.
Editor’s Note: For information and maps about eclipses on The Planetary Society website, go to planetarysociety/eclipse. For information about other things in the night sky go to planetarysociety/night-sky.
First published in the October 13 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
