Partial Solar Eclipse on August 12

by Kathleen Fleming

A Partial Solar Eclipse will be visible from Alaska during the morning of Wednesday, August 12th.  A Solar Eclipse is possible at the time of New Moon if the alignment is perfect.  This time the alignment will create a Total Solar Eclipse for a narrow band in the North Atlantic, from Greenland to Spain.  However, much of the northern portion of North America will have a Partial Eclipse.  South Central Alaska will see, weather permitting, about 30% of the Sun's disc obscured by the Moon.  This event will last about an hour and a half, with the maximum eclipse at 8:20 am.  

Kathleen Fleming will NOT be producing a StarDate Susitna about the eclipse. She has created a poster with the details, which can be viewed and downloaded via a link on the KTNA news and announcements pages.  Basically, the Moon will start to cover the top of the Sun this coming Wednesday morning about 7:30 am, and the show ends a little after 9.  The timing is the same for all of the KTNA listening area.  

To view the partial eclipse, you will need a low due East horizon view, at 8:20 the Sun will only be 15 degrees above the "presumed flat" eastern horizon.  Also, you should never look directly at the sun, even when it is low or behind clouds.  Safe ways to observe the eclipse is with appropriate filters, like the kind in approved Eclipse Glasses, or you can use the pin-hole method to see the Sun's changing crescent shape.  Instructions for the pin-hole method are on-line.  And proper Solar Eclipse Glasses are now available at area libraries.  You can pick up FREE Eclipse Shades at the Willow, Trapper Creek, and Talkeetna Public Libraries during open hours.  And feel free to share the linked poster with your friends and neighbors.

By the time the KTNA morning news begins Wednesday morning, the Partial Solar Eclipse will have just begun, low in the East.   20 minutes after 8, the Eclipse will be at maximum, for the Susitna Valley that means 30% of the Sun will be covered by the Moon.  The show ends at 9:15, Wednesday morning.  Area Libraries have Eclipse Shades to give away.  For more information, find the news item posted at KTNA.org and see the poster linked to this announcement.