I live in Texas and we Texans, along with many others in the world, are getting very excited about the upcoming solar eclipse. We are counting down to April 8.
Most solar eclipses are not seen by many people because they go over the ocean or across remote places. Our upcoming solar eclipse will be crossing parts of Mexico, the US and Canada. The path of complete totality will pass southwest to northeast across Texas.
My home is not in the direct path, but we are not far off. We may have to take a short drive that day.
For those who may not remember, a solar eclipse happens when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align causing the moon to block the sun from our view. The moon blocks the sunlight causing the moon’s shadow to fall across Earth’s surface.
For a map of the eclipse path and times when the eclipse will occur at different locations, check out Nasa’s information here
I cannot stress this enough. It is very important not to look directly at the sun, even when the moon is partially blocking it. There are eclipse classes you can get that are very inexpensive. If you have a welder in the family, a welding helmet can be used. The easiest way to see it is indirectly using a view. This can be as simple as a pin size hole through an index card. The picture at right was taken during the recent partial solar eclipse where the openings between leaves of the trees produced images on the ground. You could use a colander or anything with small holes as well.
If you would like some activities to do with your kids check out Vivify STEM’s Resources for the Solar Eclipse
Below are some picture books about solar eclipses. I will review them on my next post, tomorrow.
