REGIONAL- The North Country will experience a partial solar eclipse this coming Monday, as the sun will be partially blocked by the moon as it passes between the sun and Earth.
The partial solar eclipse will occur between 1-3 p.m. on Monday and may be visible with proper glasses if the sky is clear. It will coincide with the total solar eclipse that will be visible along a narrow band of the mainland U.S., extending from Texas to Maine. The next total solar eclipse to be visible in the U.S. is set for August 2044.
Here in northeastern Minnesota, the eclipse will block about 65-70 percent of the sun’s rays and is expected to reach its peak at approximately 2:06 p.m. Unlike under a total solar eclipse, spectators cannot safely view a partial eclipse, without using eclipse glasses, or without projecting the sun’s image onto another surface.
For those wanting to get a deeper experience, the Ely Public Library will have the NASA livestream from areas under the total eclipse path from 1-3 p.m. Both the Ely and Babbitt public libraries have solar eclipse viewing glasses to give out while supplies last.
The path of the total eclipse will extend from Texas to northern Maine during the early afternoon. Total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every 18 months on average. Any place on Earth will experience a total solar eclipse only every 360 to 410 years on average. The last total solar eclipse visible in the U.S. occurred in 2017, although Monday’s eclipse is set to be substantially longer, about four minutes in most locations, compared to about two-and-a-half minutes in 2017.
The moon’s diameter is roughly one-quarter of Earth’s, so the shadow it casts is small. The shadow for the 2017 total eclipse was around 70 miles wide. The shadow for Monday’s eclipse will be around 120 miles wide and it will travel slower across the country, taking twice as long to pass overhead. This eclipse will also pass over more populated areas than the last eclipse, with almost half the nation’s population living within 200 miles of the path of total backout on Monday. The 2017 eclipse passed over the relatively low-population areas of the southern and central plains and the northern Rocky Mountains.
The American Academy of Ophthalmologists (AAO) warns eclipse watchers not to look directly at the sun without proper eye protection for even a short time. Without the right kind of protection, an observer can permanently damage their eyes or go blind. The AAO cautions that ordinary sunglasses—even very dark ones—or homemade filters are not safe for looking at the sun.
The American Astronomical Society has more information on how to safely watch a solar eclipse at eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/eyewear-viewers.