Hello Wonderful People,
If you are like most people, you are probably aware of solar eclipse set to occur tomorrow. Depending on where you are in the United States, you have the chance to be seeing a partial eclipse or be able to view the complete, total eclipse. My hubby and I are fortunate to be living near the path of totality, meaning we will be able to see the total eclipse. Since we live in the Gateway City, we only have to travel a few miles south to be in that path. The Gateway City will actually have a 99% eclipse. You are probably wondering, what difference does it make? For most people, it doesn’t make much difference. But for us, we wanted to be in the totality path because a full total eclipse has not happened in our part of the country for over 500 years.
If you are planning to view the eclipse here as some last minute tips to make it a memorable day.
Having the right eyewear is essential!
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE PROPER EYEWEAR
There has been a lot of talk about wearing the proper eyewear to view the eclipse. Without any protective eyewear, looking into the sun can damage your eyes and even cause blindness. You do not want to take that chance. Having the right eyewear is essential. We attended a program on eclipses at the Saint Louis Science Center. By attending the program, we received a pair of glasses to use during the eclipse.
It seems like finding the glasses has become harder and harder to find as we get closer to Monday. My hubby had ordered some online a couple weeks back. It said the expected delivery would be two weeks; but they did not arrive within that time frame. Thankfully we received our pair at the Science Center.
TAKE OFF YOUR EYEWEAR DURING TOTALITY
If you are fortunate to be able to view the total eclipse, you will want to take off your protective eyewear during this time. Depending on wear you are during this time, the length of totality will vary from about 30 seconds to two minutes and 42 seconds. But during this time it is okay take off the eyewear and view the sun and your surroundings. You will notice that the temperature will drop about fifteen to twenty degrees will the sun is completely blocked out. Birds will be singing their night songs. But if you are not in that path of totality, it is important to keep your eyewear on during the entire time you are viewing the partial eclipse.
MAKE SURE YOUR CAMERAS ALSO HAVE THE PROPER EYEWEAR
After reading more about the eclipse, I learned that you also need to be concerned about your cameras. Taking a photograph of the sun without the proper filter can destroy your camera’s lens. The glasses that you bought so you can see the eclipse can also work for your camera. The eyewear will make it possible for your camera to capture a good quality photo of the sun. We photographed the sun using our cellphone and the eyewear yesterday afternoon. The photo below shows how well it came out. I know if we had not used that eyewear as a filter, we would have not been able to get that good of photo.
Photo of the Sun using eclipse glasses as a filter.
MAKE IT A PARTY!
With the proper eyewear, you can view the eclipse where ever you want. We decided to head to Augusta for a viewing along the KATY Trail, not far from the Missouri River. My hubby and I enjoy going to Augusta for walking the trail and eating in the local restaurants. It is a charming small town that is offering a party, with food, music and T-shirts. And it is on the path of totality, so it should be fun time. I know some folks who have decided not to take off from work and may go outside. For something that does not happen but every few hundred years, we definitely didn’t want to miss it.
We wil be back here Monday evening after the eclipse to share with you are experiences of the day. If you are planning to view the eclipse, let us know where you will be and if you are in the path of totality.
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