SUN BLOCK
Butler County residents will get a chance to witness a solar eclipse Monday afternoon.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon, during its new moon phase, passes in front of the sun casting a shadow on a part of Earth.
People inside the “path of totality,” a 70-mile ribbon stretching from Lincoln Beach, Ore., to Charleston, S.C., will be able to see the first total solar eclipse visible in the contiguous United States since 1979.
As viewed from Butler County, the moon will cover about 79 percent of the sun. Locally the eclipse will start around 1:10 p.m. and will reach the point of maximum coverage for several minutes around 2:34 p.m. It will end around 3:54 p.m.
People must wear special protective glasses to view the eclipse.
Solar eclipses are actually not rare but, this year's eclipse is unique because of its location, said Denise Karavias, associate professor STEM Division at Butler County Community College.
“What is exciting about this total solar eclipse is that the path of totality cuts diagonally across the continental United States making it easily accessible for people in the country to view,” she said.
The pattern of solar eclipses on Earth, called the Saros cycle, repeats every 18 years, though it will be 54 years until this eclipse will happen again because of the rotation of the Earth, Karavias said.
Anticipation around the country for the eclipse, which some are calling the Great American Eclipse 2017, has been building for weeks thanks to NASA and news agencies releasing information, said Krishna Mukherjee, Slippery Rock University assistant professor in the physics and engineering department.
The eclipse has also been a windfall for tourism in South Carolina, Tennessee, Nebraska and other states inside the “path of totality,” Mukherjee said.
“Everything is booked up. Those people who are trying to go now won't be able to find a hotel room,” she said.
Mukherjee and Karavias both cautioned that people viewing the partial eclipse must wear approved protective glasses. There have been reports in recent weeks of fake or unsafe eclipse glasses being sold. NASA offers a list of certified approved manufacturers on its website.
When using the glasses, or using a telescope or camera equipped with a special solar filter, the sun's atmosphere can be viewed.
“The part of the sun to watch is the corona which has an irregular shape. Shadows will be heightened, but if you have to drive or work outdoors, go ahead nothing will happen,” Mukherjee said about the eclipse as it occurs in Western Pennsylvania.
Another option to view the eclipse is by projecting it onto a piece of paper using a “pinhole camera,” a simple device that can be made at home using a couple of sheets of white paper and a pin, according to NASA.
SRU's planetarium, located in the Vincent Science Center, from 12:30 to 3 p.m. will be showing a NASA livestream featuring footage of the eclipse from around the country in the path of totality. That event is free.
The Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh will also have an event at which people can look through special solar telescopes and view a livestream in the Buhl Planetarium.
The eclipse glasses, which range in price from about $1 each up to $25 online, have been a hot commodity in recent weeks.
More than 2 million pairs of eclipse glasses were distributed free to 7,000 libraries around the country through a grant program run by the STAR Library Network, with support from the Moore Foundation, Google, NASA, the Research Corporation and the National Science Foundation.
Though no libraries in Butler County received the glasses, the Foxburg Free Library, just across the Clarion County line at 31 Main St., has pairs available.
Some businesses in the Butler area also are selling them. Butler Eye Care, which has locations in Butler Township and Chicora, is selling the glasses for $2.50 each while supplies last. They are also giving them free to patients who come in for an eye exam. The Playthings Etc. toy store on Route 8 in Clay Township has also been selling the glasses while supplies last.
People would be unlikely to witness the eclipse in the event of rain or total cloud cover, though the National Weather Service this week was forecasting 36 percent cloud coverage for Butler.
