On August 21, we here in Southern Ontario had the opportunity to witness a solar eclipse, like most of North America. Well, part of one at least – we received 67% coverage. Not one to shy away from an experience such as this, we did not hide inside for the day. We spoke about the risks of looking at the sun early that morning, and we created a viewer using a piece of cardboard (everywhere was sold out of eclipse viewing glasses, plus I’m pretty thrifty. i.e. cheap). We simply took a piece of cardboard, and poked a hole in the middle of it. I realized quickly that we needed a solid colour surface in order to see anything, so I grabbed a shelf my parents had inside, and used that.
It was really neat watching the sun’s crescent grow smaller. We didn’t experience darkness, per se, but the best I could describe it is the world looked a brown/tan colour at its peak.
We did notice a brief drop in temperature (maybe 2-3 degrees Celcius), as well as increased winds. Little Miss did not look up at the sun, even though she knew what was going on. Truthfully, she wasn’t incredibly interested for more than a short period of time. Earlier that morning, we watched a brief video (about a minute or 2) about what happens when there is a solar eclipse. Interestingly, she inquired as to why there was pink around the moon. This was a great opportunity to discuss solar flares, which we expanded on. Another friend’s daughter asked about sun spots when they discussed the eclipse, and yet another friend’s family investigated why the eye’s pupil dilates, and how that is affected during an eclipse. All of these children are between 3-6 years old. I love how curiosity can take many different forms, and lead you down such varying paths.
Then this happened:
While I was scrolling through Facebook that afternoon, I came across a post that read:
“Do you have a broom? When you get a chance try standing a broom up in the middle of the room. Only on eclipse day will a broom stand straight on its own perfectly straight. Let me know if it works for you…”
Well, naturally, I grabbed my broom, and lo and behold, it stood!
Fortunately for you, you don’t have to wait for the next solar eclipse, nor the next equinox (August 21st was the vernal equinox, so that was another explanation proposed). It actually has nothing to do with planetary alignment. Rather, it’s due to the broom’s mass distribution. But, give it a go none the less. It’s fun to leave a broom standing on end for the next person to find 😉