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A total solar eclipse is a feast for the eyes, but don’t forget to look around.
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There is more to see during a total solar eclipse than just the moon itself.
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Sun flares, a stunning crown, 2 planets, and a diamond ring are just some of the things to look for.
When a total solar eclipse passes over the United States on April 8, more than 31 million Americans who live in the path of totality, where the moon completely obscures the sun, can see a series of rare phenomena that many will not see in their part. hometowns again for centuries.
“It’s very rare that you get a total solar eclipse,” Rick Fienberg, project manager for the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Eclipse Task Force told Business Insider. “If you’re lucky to be in the path, you’re lucky.”
That’s because the unique views that occur before, during, and after the total eclipse are “amazing,” Fienberg said. And some of them, you will see twice – once as the moon passes over the sun, and again when it moves.
“The whole thing goes in the opposite direction at the end” of totality, Fienberg said.
Here are eight sights he recommends looking for during the total solar eclipse.
1. Sunset 360 degrees
If you can, get a clear view of the horizon for the event. In the few minutes before and after totality the moon will move across the sun beginning a unique 360 degree sunset look.
The colors of sunset, and sunrise, occur when sunlight passes through more of the atmosphere low in the sky and hits dust and moisture in the air. The light is scattered as a result, making it appear yellow, orange, and red.
During totality, light from outside the moon’s shadow takes a similar path, and your eyes see it the same way, so the entire horizon will look like one giant thing.
2. Purple, silvery sky
As the the moon moves across the sun, it blocks more light, until only the thinnest outer edge of the sun’s photosphere (layer of the sun) is visible in the moments immediately before and after totality. This outer edge, known as the limb, is cooler than the center of the sun so it looks different to our eyes.
So, when only the arm is visible just before and after the total, “the whole color of the sky changes,” taking on a purple or silver hue, Fienberg said.
3. Sunspots and solar highlights
Currently, the sun is approaching its highest level of magnetic activity, a time known as solar maximum which occurs approximately every 11 years. This means more sunspots, which are huge dark circles on the solar surface that can be many times the size of Earth.
Using binoculars or a telescope with a sun-safe filter, sunspots will be very clear during the periods of the partial eclipse, Fienberg said.
“You can watch as the moon gobbles them up and spits them back out.” You can even track when and where sunspots will be on the day of the eclipse by visiting SpaceWeatherLive.com.
You can also squint at the edge of the sun to see solar flares – huge protrusions that shoot off the sun’s surface. They will look neon pink.
4. Crescent shadows
Back before eclipse glasses and solar filtersthe only safe way to observe an eclipse before and after totality was by pinprick projection.
Here’s how it works: when sunlight passes through a small area—like a pinhole, leaves on a tree, or holes in a colander—the shadow reflects the crescent shape of the sun.
If you stand with your back to the sun, holding an object with small holes in it (Fienberg recommends a Ritz cracker or a slotted serving spoon with holes), you will see small crescent shapes among the shadows on the ground.
“People have a lot of fun with that,” Fienberg said.
5. Venus and Jupiter
In the moments before, during, and after the total eclipse, “Two planets will be very clear,” said Fienberg. Jupiter to the upper left the sun, and Venus (the brighter of the two) to the lower right.
Venus should be visible first, about ten minutes before totality and Jupiter will be more visible during totality, but may be visible a few minutes immediately before and after.
6. Baily’s beads
As the moon passes over the sun, it blocks the light. But “the moon is not a smooth sphere like marble,” Fienberg said. “It is rough,” because of mountains, valleys, and craters. This results in one of the most remarkable eclipse phenomena: Baily beadsnamed for the English astronomer Francis Baily, who explained them in 1836.
“Baily’s beads are the last bits of sunlight visible through deep valleys on the moon’s surface, before it completely covers the sun,” Fienberg said. They appear like round blazes of sunlight about 10 seconds before and after total.
7. Diamond ring effect
Baily’s beads explain another eclipse phenomenon: the diamond ring effect. This occurs when the sun is almost completely covered by the moon, and only one more bead of sunlight is exposed.
At this point, the corona, or outermost layer of the sun, begins to appear. The result is a stunning ring of sunlight with one large prominence, which looks just like a diamond solitaire in the sky.
The diamond ring effect can be hard to see because it only lasts for an instant and you won’t see it if your eclipse glasses are still on. But it’s also important to keep your glasses on until the moment of totality, when the moon completely hides the sun and it’s safe to take your glasses off.
Because of that, Fienberg recommends looking at the direct diamond ring effect after total Leave your glasses off, then put them back on immediately after the diamond ring appears.
8. The crown of the sun
When the moon completely covers the surface of the sun, you will be able to see the corona, or the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere. It will look like a bright, symmetrical glow coming from behind the moon’s shadow.
Normally, our eyes cannot detect the corona because of the the surface of the sun appears too bright, so totality is a unique opportunity for this.
In addition, it will be particularly spectacular this year as the appearance of the corona changes with the level of the sun’s magnetic activity. Since the sun is approaching solar maximum, the corona will appear more vivid, symmetrical, and larger in April than during past eclipses.
“It’s really dramatic,” Fienberg said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
