Partial Solar Eclipse Will Occur Late Thursday Afternoon

[October 21, 2014]  A partial solar eclipse will occur over a large part of North America on Thursday. In a partial solar eclipse, the moon passes in front of the Sun, although off-center, resulting in only part of the Sun's disk being covered by the moon's shadow. In the United States, the only areas that will not be able to see the eclipse are Hawaii and New England. The sun will be at least 60% obscured in areas from Oregon to Wisconsin northward to the Canadian border, with the greatest obscuration across northern Canada.

According to NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak, "Observers in the Central Time zone have the best view because the eclipse is in its maximum phase at sunset. They will see a fiery crescent sinking below the horizon, dimmed to human visibility by low-hanging clouds and mist."

Starting times for specific locations can be determined via an eclipse calculator from the U.S. Naval Observatory. In central and southeast Illinois, the starting time for selected locations are as follows:

Galesburg -- 4:35 p.m.
Peoria -- 4:36 p.m.
Bloomington -- 4:38 p.m.
Springfield -- 4:39 p.m.
Decatur -- 4:39 p.m.
Champaign -- 4:39 p.m.
Mattoon -- 4:41 p.m.
Effingham -- 4:41 p.m.
Lawrenceville -- 4:43 p.m.

Maximum eclipse will be roughly between 5:45 and 5:50 pm. The maximum obscuration will range from around 45% near Galesburg, to just under 40% south of I-70. Sunset ranges from around 6:00 pm along the Indiana border, to around 6:10 pm in areas from Galesburg south to Jacksonville.

It is very important to not look directly at the Sun during the eclipse. This can cause eye damage. There are several other ways to see the effects of the eclipse. A "pinhole viewer" is the easiest, in which a small hole is punched in a piece of paper or cardboard, then the sunlight is focused through the hole onto a second piece of paper or cardboard. Objects that have small holes in them, such as the wire mesh on some park benches or patio furniture, can serve a similar function. An Internet search of "solar eclipse viewing safety" contains several search results with ideas on how to view the eclipse.

More information on this particular eclipse is available on NASA's home page at this link.

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