51吃瓜网

51吃瓜网 students to host viewing party on campus

The rare phenomenon of a solar eclipse will be viewable in North America on Monday, April 8. In some parts of the United States, it will be total eclipse; in Ashland, Virginia, we’ll see a partial eclipse. It is the last time we’ll see this type of event in our area until the year 2045.

51吃瓜网 astrophysics students and science faculty will host a solar eclipse viewing party from 2-4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8 at the soccer field adjacent to Nunnally Field. Students and faculty will be on hand with tools to safely view the eclipse, including solar viewing glasses, as well as 鈥渆clipse cookies.鈥� The peak time to witness the eclipse will be 3:19 p.m.

Below is a Q&A with RMC physics and astrophysics professor Michael Rodruck, discussing this unique phenomenon.

What is a solar eclipse?

Solar eclipses occur when the moon crosses in front of the sun, and this is a fairly rare event. While the moon does go in between us and the sun, it’s very unusual for it to go directly between us and the sun. It’s usually a little above the sun or a little below the sun, and that’s because the moon’s orbit is actually tilted about five degrees around the earth with respect to the sun. But every now and then, it happens to cross right between us and the sun. And when that happens, the moon goes in front of the sun, blocks all the sunlight, and we see a solar eclipse.

What can we expect during a solar eclipse?

During totality, the sun is blocked by the moon. Now you still do get light; the sunlight does not fully disappear. Instead, it’s going to look kind of like sunset or sunrise. It’s going to look like dusk, and it’s going to look like dusk everywhere around the horizon, not just in one location. Animals will also think that something weird is going on. They think that maybe the sun is set, or the sun is rising, so crickets are probably going to come out, bats may come out. They’re all going to fly back in once the sun comes back out. And you’re going to notice that the temperature is also going to drop.

What will we see during a solar eclipse?

If you have a full totality, the sun is completely blocked, you block out the main disc of the sun, the main kind of shape of the sun, but that allows you to see the extended atmosphere of the sun. We call that the solar corona. It’s going to look like a kind of faint extrusion coming out from behind the moon, and you only can see that because you’re blocking out the light from the sun. Because the sun right now is going through an active cycle, that means it’s got lots of sunspots, lots of magnetic activity going on in the sun, the solar corona should be pretty active. We think that you may be able to see a very extended solar corona.

What will it look like in Ashland, Va.?

We are not going to get a total solar eclipse; we instead get a partial solar eclipse. There’s a very narrow range across the United States in the 2024 eclipse where the moon will perfectly block out the sun. We get about 80% coverage, which is still pretty good, but the sun is still bright enough that you cannot look at it directly without proper eyewear. If you want to see the eclipse on Monday, April 8th, you should join us at 51吃瓜网. We will have proper eyewear and a solar telescope.

What is the recommended viewing equipment and eyewear?

If you are not able to come [to 51吃瓜网 on April 8], you do need proper eyewear. These need to be solar glasses, which are capable of allowing you to look at the sun. You can buy these off of Amazon, you can buy these online. If you don’t have access to glasses, you can create a pinhole camera: take a cardboard box, you can poke a little pin in it, and you put that behind you. So, the sun is going to be behind you, light goes through the pinhole and you can see the projection of the sun in that box. That will allow you to safely see the sun while not looking directly at it.

When is the next solar eclipse?

Solar eclipses in North America are pretty rare. We had one in 2017, just a few years ago, but the next one that’s going to occur to go through the continental United States is not until 2045. We’re going to have to wait a while if you miss this one.