Experience the Great American Eclipse at Kopernik
Vestal observatory has plans to make viewing Monday’s eclipse safer
Well, the day of the Great American Eclipse is almost upon us!
On Monday, millions of people across the United States will see a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun and reveals the sun’s beautiful outer atmosphere or corona. The 70-mile-wide path of totality will begin in the Pacific Ocean and travel across the continental U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina.
The Earth is the only planet in our solar system that experiences a total solar eclipse, but even on Earth, a total solar eclipse is a rare event. The last one visible in the continental U.S. occurred in 1979, and the next will not take place until 2024.
Millions more Americans, included residents of the Southern Tier, will be outside the path of totality on Monday and will see a partial eclipse, with the moon covering most of the Sun. In our area, the eclipse will begin at 1:18 p.m. Maximum coverage of the sun (about 70 percent) will occur at 2:36 p.m. The moon will finally leave the edge of the sun around 3:55 p.m. and the eclipse will be over.
This partial eclipse cannot be safely viewed with the naked eye. To safely view the partial eclipse, you need to look through special solar filters such as those found in eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewers. Ordinary sunglasses let in too much sunlight and are NOT safe for looking directly at the sun. Be sure to inspect your solar filters before use. If they are scratched or damaged, do not use them!
This is important: You must not look through a telescope or binoculars while wearing eclipse glasses. The magnification provided by binoculars and telescopes will immediately burn through the solar film on the glasses resulting in serious injury and blindness. The accompanying photo shows what happened to solar glasses placed behind a pair of binoculars.
Kopernik will be open for the Great American Eclipse to help you observe this spectacular eclipse safely through our specially filtered telescopes, including the Heliostat, which projects a 9-foot-diameter image of the sun on a classroom wall. As the moon passes in front of the sun, you will be able to see ridges from the craters on the moon.
Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. on Monday regardless of sky conditions. Approximately every 20 minutes until 1 p.m., staff will offer a short presentation on the eclipse, explaining why eclipses happen, how to observe one safely, and what resources Kopernik has for observing the eclipse. Admission will be $5 for adults, $3 for seniors/students, $16 maximum for a family (children and two adults), and free for Kopernik members. Each admission will include a free pair of NASA-certified solar eclipse glasses. Throughout the day, Kopernik will display video feeds of the eclipse from other observatories across the country.
Kopernik’s Friday night programs continue this fall.
This Friday, Kopernik staff will present “Basic Astronomy.” Bring the whole family for this beginner’s guide to stargazing. Learn how to read a star map, find a comet and use a Dobsonian telescope. Tour Kopernik’s telescopes and bring your own telescope so Kopernik staff can help you learn how to use it.
On Aug. 25, Adam Flint of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition will present a program on “Community Shared Solar Power.” Learn how solar energy now can be an option for everyone.
Kopernik staff will talk about Fall Skies on Sept. 1. Learn about fall constellations, see the latest Hubble Space Telescope images, and learn how to locate the International Space Station as it flies over the area.
Jeff Winchell from the Fire Investigation Unit of Broome County Emergency Services will present “The Science of Fire” on Sept. 8. Learn how investigators try to determine the origin and cause of a fire and also how to prevent fires.
Then on Sept. 15, Keith Werkman from the Kopernik Astronomical Society will discuss “Cassini’s Fiery Plunge into Saturn.” See the last images (and data) from Cassini, which has been orbiting Saturn for over a decade, and find out why NASA is crashing the spacecraft into Saturn.
As always, if you visit Kopernik on a Friday night and are unable to view the night sky through our telescopes due to weather, you get a pass to come back on another Friday night.
Race to the Stars
Finally, on Sept. 16, lace up your running shoes and head to Kopernik for the inaugural Kopernik Race to the Stars 5K. Run through sunset and into the dark night. See the beautiful Milky Way and numerous deep sky objects under the moonless sky. It will be a great reward for completing a challenging road race.
This USATF-certified race will start at the intersection of West Hill Road and Glenwood Road in Vestal and finish at Kopernik. It will be a great course to test your stamina with a 700-foot vertical rise. There also will be a family-friendly relatively flat one mile Fun Run. After the race, stay for the after-party and look into the night sky through Kopernik’s telescopes. Visit www.kopernik.org for more information and online registration.
Deskur is the executive director of the Kopernik Observatory & Science Center.