What to Know About the Total Eclipse April 8

By KEVIN BUI/Contributor

In the solar system, there are many things to see, from a shooting star to all the planets. But of all the wonders the solar system offers, many believe a solar eclipse is the best of all.

A solar eclipse occurs during the rare occasion when the Earth, moon and sun align in such a way that the moon temporarily blocks out the light of the sun, explained Randy Back, an associate professor of physics at UT Tyler.

On April 8, a solar eclipse will cross over portions of Mexico, the United States and Canada. Millions of people will experience the eclipse, according to a solar eclipse fact sheet from NASA.

TOTAL ECLIPSE IN TYLER

However, East Texas is among the places that will experience a total eclipse.

According to information on Visit Tyler’s Totality Tyler website, the eclipse will take place in different stages.

“At the beginning of the eclipse, you will see the full sun. The next stage is first contact, when the shadow of the moon begins to touch the edge of the solar disk,” stated the website.

Eventually the sun will be completely blocked except for the shining corona at the edges and then the sun will slowly re-emerge.

Back said that when the solar eclipse hits, “it will slowly get more and more dim (outside) as the moon covers the sun. … For a few minutes, it will be completely dark like the night.”

In Tyler, the eclipse will start just after 12:20 p.m. and end at about 3 p.m., with total eclipse being from 1:43 to 1:45 p.m.

“We’re at the very edge (of the path) so it (total coverage) won’t last very long,” Back said.

It is important that people use special glasses when viewing the eclipse.

WEAR PROTECTIVE GLASSES

“Never look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun without appropriate eyewear,” warns NASA.

Retailers are offering viewing glasses in stores and online. Totality Tyler says that glasses are available at:

• Visit Tyler gift shop, 110 N. College Ave.;
• Earth & Space Science Center at Tyler Junior College;
• Discovery Science Place, 308 N. Broadway Ave.

Back said he is very excited about and looking forward to the eclipse.

He will teach a class on the day of the eclipse at 1 p.m. but plans to rearrange things so that he and his students can go outside and see the solar eclipse together.

Visit Tyler is promoting the eclipse as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, noting that it will be the last total eclipse of the millennium visible in Tyler.

“Immerse yourself in the cosmic wonders of nature and witness this breathtaking celestial event,” encourages the website.

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