In the winter months, when Orion rises high in the sky, a brilliant star shines just to the southeast of him. Even if the three stars in Orions belt didnt coincidentally point almost right at it, youd notice it. After all, Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.

The apparently brightest star, I should pedantically add. Some of that is due to its intrinsic luminosity (it emits about 25 times as much energy as the sun does), but even more important, its close: At a distance of 8.6 light years its the seventh closest star system to the sun.

And yes, it is a system. A binary, to be clear; a pair of stars orbiting each other. The star we see with our eyes is called Sirius A. The companion, Sirius B, is a white dwarf, the small and dense core of what used to be a normal star, but ran out of nuclear fuel and blew off its outer layers. Its very faint in visible light, roughly one ten-thousandth the brightness of A. That makes it relatively difficult to see, and it was only discovered in 1862. Its existence was suspected before that; careful measurements even back then showed Sirius appeared to wobble a teeny tiny amount in the sky. It turns out that was due to the gravity of Sirius B tugging on A as they orbit each other.

In the 150-plus years since then, weve learned a lot about the pair, but what I find interesting is that precise measurements have been maddeningly elusive. Sirius A is so much brighter than B that even measuring their separation from each other has proven difficult. Any photograph where B is exposed well overexposes A to the point of uselessness.

Difficult, but not impossible. A team of astronomers led by my old friend and colleague Howard Bond has been studying Sirius for quite some time. Theyve been observing Sirius using Hubble Space Telescope for nearly 20 years to get precise measurements of the positions of the two stars as they orbit each other. They coupled that with measurements from the U.S. Naval Observatory going back to 1956 and not only that, they actually used observations from as far back as 1862!

With all this information, they have finally been able to piece together a coherent picture of the two stars, how they orbit each other, what their physical characteristics are, and perhaps most interestingly what their history is.

Physically, they find that Sirius A has 2.06 times the mass of the sun, and the white dwarf Sirius B has a mass of 1.018 solar masses. All fine and good, but its the stars sizes that are amazing. They find Sirius A has a diameter that's 1.7144 times the sun more massive stars are bigger, so that makes sense but Sirius B has a diameter of just 0.008098 of the suns! That makes it about 11,270 kilometers wide: Smaller than the Earth!

Thats a dense star. A cubic centimeter of it (the size of six-sided die) would have a mass of 2.7 metric tons. Imagine taking a fully loaded pickup truck and crushing it down to the size of a sugar cube and youll get the picture. Now, to be fair, weve known this for decades, but these new measurements are the most accurate ever made. Theyll help us understand the physics of stars better than we ever have.

In fact, these accurate measurements of the masses, sizes, colors, and chemical content of the stars allowed the astronomers to use physical models to calculate the ages of the stars. Sirius A comes out to be about 237 247 million years old, while Sirius B is 228 million years old. The uncertainties in both measurements are large enough (10 million years or so) that these estimates are consistent with each other, as expected. We can assume they were born together.

The orbit of the two stars is interesting, too. They revolve around each other every 50.1284 years, ranging from 1.2 billion to 4.7 billion kilometers apart on whats obviously a highly elliptical orbit. The last time they were closest together (whats called periastron) was in mid-1994. Theyre now about as far apart as they ever get.

And that part leads to something very interesting indeed! Sirius B is the burned-out core of a star that was once much like the sun, though more massive. It likely started out life as a 5.6 solar mass star, putting it in the top tiers of normal stars. Something like 130 million years ago it ran out of useable hydrogen in its core to fuse into helium. It swelled up into a red giant, blew off its outer layers, and eventually all that was left was its dense inert core the white dwarf we see today.

But that red giant stage leads us to a mystery. At that mass, Sirius B wouldve swollen up a lot. It could have been 450 - 500 million kilometers across three times wider than the Earths distance to the sun! But thats weird: Back then, the periastron distance between Sirius A and B wouldve been less than Sirius Bs radius. In other words, when Sirius B got all swollen, Sirius A wouldve been inside it!

These kinds of stars have been seen before; we call them contact binaries. Usually its two stars that share a single, peanut-shaped atmosphere, but in this case A really wouldve been inside of B*. This is technically called the common envelope phase of a close binary system. But it has ramifications. For example, if the two stars start off with an elliptical orbit, this phase will circularize it fast. Yet now, the orbit of the two stars is highly elongated. Thats odd. In fact other binary systems have been seen like this, and its not at all clear why or how the orbits remain elliptical after the common envelope phase.

I love this, to be honest. How many times have I seen Sirius, with my own eyes, through binoculars, through a telescope? Hundreds? Thousands, surely. Yet, despite being the brightest star in the night sky, despite being so close, despite tens of thousands of hours of observations of Sirius across the world and throughout history, mysteries still remain about it. About them.

Oh, science. I can never tire of you, because there is always more to know. Always.

* Come to think of it, we name the brighter star of a binary A and the dimmer one B. Back then. B wouldve been A, and A wouldve been B. But this was long before humans strode the Earth and built telescopes. Also, those stars wouldve been on the other side of the galaxy from us back then. Time changes things.

See the original post here:

Why so Sirius? - SYFY WIRE (blog)

Aug. 21, 2017, 11:59 a.m.

Reporting from Salem, Ore.

It took Amy Steel, an astronomy graduate student at the University ofMaryland, about 20 minutes to stop crying after the moment of totality passed in Salem, Ore.

"It was so pretty," she said, over and over again. "It was just so pretty."

"The moon was so black," she continued. "It was black like a hole in the sky. And Mercury! We never get photons from Mercury. It was so good."

Erin Meadors, who isabout to enter her sophomore year at Williams College, darted around the terrace ofa brick building sharing eight-minute video she took of the celestial event withfriends, coworkers and even a few strangers.

Meadors has spent herwhole summer preparing for the moment that just passed, checking camera and telescope equipment and then packing the instrumentsfor the trip from Massachusetts to Oregon.

Was it worth it?

"Oh my gosh," she gushed. "It was more than worth it. I should have been planning my whole life for this."

The rest is here:

Great American Eclipse: Everything you need to know - Los Angeles Times

Monday's solar eclipse began in Erie around 1:10 p.m. and concluded shortly before 4 p.m. The highlight or literal low light came at 2:30 p.m., when the moon covered 75.9 percent of the sun.

The blue sky turned dim.

Mother Nature flipped a switch to illuminate the ornamental lights outside Penn State Behrend's School of Science. People young and old climbed a step ladder to gaze through a telescope. Others, donning flimsy cardboard glasses, tilted their heads upward. Even the large pores of leaves cast crescent-shaped cutouts into the shadows below.

"It's amazing, Mother Nature, and everyone gathering together to celebrate this wonderful thing that's happening today," 48-year-old Anne Regener, of Erie, said. "It's pretty special, this natural phenomenon."

Monday's solar eclipse began in Erie around 1:10 p.m. and concluded shortly before 4 p.m. The highlight or literal low light came at 2:30 p.m., when the moon covered 75.9 percent of the sun. In other sections of the country, from Oregon to South Carolina, onlookers witnessed the first total solar eclipse since February 1978. The last visible partial solar eclipse for the region was in 1994.

Regener was among the hundreds of people who gathered for a free public viewing event at Penn State Behrend, which set up three telescopes outside the School of Science, offered tours of the Yahn Planetarium and handed out free eclipse glasses to the first 100 people in line.

"Beautiful," marveled Lydia Chimenti, of Erie, as she stepped back from an Orion telescope to see the early stages of the eclipse. "It took a big chunk out of (the sun). It looks like somebody took a bite out of a cookie."

Chimenti, an astronomy enthusiast, took astronomy classes at Behrend 15 years ago and returns periodically for special events at the planetarium. She's planning to travel to Iceland in October to view the northern lights. She took a half-day off work for the eclipse.

Johnny Carr, 13, of Franklin, drove an hour with his mom, Johnna Carr, and sister, Ava Carr, for the event.

"It kind of looked like a big piece of cheese with a cut in it," he said after looking through a telescope. "It was pretty cool."

Sophie Bleil, 10, a fourth-grader at Clark Elementary in Harborcreek, couldn't see much through the telescope, but her face lit up when she tried eclipse glasses.

"You can see a crescent," she said.

A few dozen people arrived at Behrend two hours before the event began to line up for free eclipse glasses, which most area stores were sold out of late last week.

Others arrived with their own creations. Kellan Loranger, 4, of North East, carried a makeshift eclipse viewer designed from an empty box of Shredded Wheat. Jay Amicangelo, a chemistry professor at Behrend, couldn't get his hands on the specialty glasses, so he transformed a shoe box into a pinhole viewer.

School of Science employees helped small children and students make their own pinhole viewers out of black construction paper and tinfoil. Holes were poked using tooth picks. Freshman Brandon Banas, 18, used his to capture the sun's crescent shape on a blank white sheet of paper he set on the sidewalk.

Priscilla Hamilton, 60, of Harborcreek, came armed with a paper towel tube that was covered by a pin-poked piece of paper at one end. But she didn't need it.

"I didn't think I was going to be one of the 100 people lucky enough to get my own glasses," the retired U.S. Army dentist said.

Then there was Bill Augur, 69, also of Harborcreek. He tried a contraption in 1994 without much luck, but gave it another try Monday after going online for help. Augur arranged a pair of binoculars on a tripod, covering all but the lenses with a large cardboard box. It also projected the sun's orange-peel shape onto a piece of paper.

Some people tried to photograph the eclipse using their glasses as filters. Behrend sophomore accounting majors Khushi Kantawala and Katerina Ellis were among them. Kantawala, 18, propped up her glasses until Ellis was able to snap the perfect shot.

"It's actually really cool, I've never seen one," Ellis said.

"My mom called and said, 'Don't look at the sun. Go to your classes. Don't look up there,'" a laughing Kantawala said. "I said, 'Mom, it's college, you know I'm not going to (listen).'"

Darren Williams, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Behrend, used a yellow-painted Styrofoam ball about the size of basketball and a softball to demonstrate what would occur once the eclipse began. Williams said Monday's eclipse wasn't as dramatic as the one in 1994.

"In the '94 (eclipse) for Erie, the moon passed directly in front of the sun, but it was too far away," he said. "It looked too small to cover up the whole face of the sun, so you saw the edge of the sun peeking out from the moon."

That eclipse covered about 95 percent of the sun, compared to 76 percent coverage Monday.

For the next eclipse in 2024 the sun will be 100 percent covered for the Erie area, he said.

"That's very rare for one location on Earth to experience eclipses of this magnitude separated by only seven years," he said. "Usually it's 20, 30 or 40 years between major eclipses."

Matthew Rink can be reached at 870-1884 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNrink.

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Eclipse brings out astronomy buffs, curious observers - GoErie.com

Conditions for eclipse viewing were almost perfect Monday afternoon, attracting about 200 people to the far end of the Washington County Fairgrounds' parking lot where astronomy enthusiasts had set up four telescopes.

People looked skyward with eclipse glasses. Some aimed homemade eclipse projectors. Tom Duffy from Greenwich had taped a No. 12 welders lens and a No. 5 braziers lens to a hole in a piece of foam board, making a safe way to view the sun directly.

Bill Frederick, organizer of the Salem Astronomy Club, had his 10-inch reflecting telescope with a filter over the lens, and a 3-inch refracting telescope equipped with a solar funnel. The hardware-store funnel, attached with a clamp, projected the suns image onto a piece of fabric stretched over the funnels big end, allowing several people to see at once.

Frederick explained that the tiny spots visible on the suns image werent dirt on the lens but rather sunspots, each as big as seven or eight earths. The spots move with the suns 28-day rotation period.

A man views the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at the Washington County fairgrounds in Easton. The region experienced a 66 percent eclipse while other parts of the country were left in darkness.

A man photographs an image of the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at the Washington County fairgrounds.

A man prepares to view the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at the Washington County fairgrounds in Easton. The region experienced a 66 percent eclipse while other parts of the country were left in darkness.

People view the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at the Washington County fairgrounds in Easton. The region experienced a 66 percent eclipse while other parts of the country were left in darkness.

People gathered at the Washington County Fair grounds and used telescopes and viewing glasses to view the solar eclipse on Monday August 21st.

Women wearing protective glasses look up at the partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

Brayden, Adrianna and Dianna Lum of Queensbury look up at the sun Monday afternoon during the partial solar eclipse at Moreau Lake State Park.

A boy tries on a pair of eclipse glasses to view the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

A group of girls look up at the sun Monday afternoon during the partial solar eclipse at Moreau Lake State Park.

State Park employee Emma Crockett holds a carboard tube with a pin-head size hole through aluminium foil for a boy to witness the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

State Park employee Margo Flewelling holds a colander for children to witness the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

State Park employee Margo Flewelling holds a colander for children to witness the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

David Hall of Adirondack Skywatchers Astronomy Club talks to visitors Monday afternoon during the partial solar eclipse at Moreau Lake State Park.

Spectators look up at the partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park during an eclipse viewing party.

The partial solar eclipse is seen Monday afternoon through a cut out cardboard box at Moreau Lake State Park.

Alli Schweizer holds a long cardboard box to display the partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

A man looks up at the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

A woman uses a spy glass to look at the partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

A man views the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at the Washington County fairgrounds in Easton. The region experienced a 66 percent eclipse while other parts of the country were left in darkness.

A man photographs an image of the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at the Washington County fairgrounds.

A man prepares to view the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at the Washington County fairgrounds in Easton. The region experienced a 66 percent eclipse while other parts of the country were left in darkness.

People view the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at the Washington County fairgrounds in Easton. The region experienced a 66 percent eclipse while other parts of the country were left in darkness.

People gathered at the Washington County Fair grounds and used telescopes and viewing glasses to view the solar eclipse on Monday August 21st.

Women wearing protective glasses look up at the partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

Brayden, Adrianna and Dianna Lum of Queensbury look up at the sun Monday afternoon during the partial solar eclipse at Moreau Lake State Park.

A boy tries on a pair of eclipse glasses to view the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

A group of girls look up at the sun Monday afternoon during the partial solar eclipse at Moreau Lake State Park.

State Park employee Emma Crockett holds a carboard tube with a pin-head size hole through aluminium foil for a boy to witness the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

State Park employee Margo Flewelling holds a colander for children to witness the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

State Park employee Margo Flewelling holds a colander for children to witness the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

David Hall of Adirondack Skywatchers Astronomy Club talks to visitors Monday afternoon during the partial solar eclipse at Moreau Lake State Park.

Spectators look up at the partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park during an eclipse viewing party.

The partial solar eclipse is seen Monday afternoon through a cut out cardboard box at Moreau Lake State Park.

Alli Schweizer holds a long cardboard box to display the partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

A man looks up at the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

A woman uses a spy glass to look at the partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon at Moreau Lake State Park.

Don Minkle, who teaches astronomy and earth science at SUNY Adirondack, had a large reflecting scope that transmitted the suns visible light, creating a white image, and a smaller telescope designed specifically for viewing the suns chromosphere, which emits red light. People went from one telescope to another, peering through the eyepieces and taking photographs with smart phones and iPads.

As the eclipse progressed toward its local maximum at about 2:40 p.m., the crowd noted that the air was cooler, the light dimmer. Sunshine coming through small openings, such as the spaces between strands in a straw hat, made tiny bright crescents, just like the area of the sun that the moon was covering.

Layla Carnahan had come from Cossayuna with her three children, Hudson, 10, Grace, 9, and Noelle, 1.

We have a telescope but no filters, Layla Carnahan said. The kids were excited to come. This was the first solar eclipse for her as well as her children, she said.

J.P. Dartt, a member of the Salem Astronomy Club, was supervising the telescope with the solar funnel. The telescopes had to be adjusted every few minutes as the sun progressed westward across the sky. Dartt, experiencing his first solar eclipse, was excited to observe what he thought was rapid movement of a sunspot, only to realize that the sunspot wasnt moving, just the moons shadow across the face of the sun.

Annie Miller, director of the Greenwich Free Library, helped organize the event. We had huge interest, she said. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration sent the library 1,000 pairs of eclipse glasses. Miller gave 600 to other libraries and distributed all of the remainder to Greenwich library patrons.

I had no idea this would be so big, she said.

Other viewings across the region included one at Moreau Lake State Park, as many paused from fun in the sun and water to take in the eclipse.

Dianna Lum, with her children Brayden and Adrianna, of Queensbury, said they planned their day around the eclipse.

The trio joined dozens of others taking in the moment the eclipse started at about 1:30 p.m. at the state park.

David Hall, of the Adirondack Skywatchers astronomy club, was on hand answering questions for eclipse watchers as park employees provided eclipse viewers that ranged from certified glasses to homemade devices.

A long cardboard box, with the top covered with aluminum foil featuring a pinhead-size hole, displayed the eclipse's progress on a white piece of paper affixed to the bottom of the box through a hole cut in the side of the box.

Other items included a metal colander. When positioned correctly, it displayed the shadow produced by the eclipse.

We periodically get a solar eclipse once or twice a year somewhere on earth, Hall said.

Hall said during the eclipse it will appear two-thirds darker, which equates to about 5:30 or 6 p.m.

An eery shadow cast over the beach and water of the state park on Monday as the eclipse reached its peak at about 2:45 p.m.

The sun is about 400 times the diameter of the moon and the sun is roughly 400 times away from the moon, Hall said.

The amateur astronomers are teaming with Friends of Moreau Lake State Park to build an on-site observatory.

The partial solar eclipse on Monday will serve as a warm-up for the next solar eclipse, which includes New York in its path of totality. That eclipse will occur April 8, 2024. The path of totality will go just north of our region.

Well be at 95 percent (coverage) for that eclipse, Frederick said.

Online Editor Adam Colver contributed to this report.

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Looking skyward: Astronomy enthusiasts lend hand to view historic eclipse - Glens Falls Post-Star

Yulia Shevtsov and her son Steven Shevtsov, 3, watch the partial eclipse of the Sun during a viewing party outside Telus World of Science, Monday Aug. 21, 2017. David Bloom / Postmedia

The queue of anxious fans snaked around the building, several hundred people deep. While they waited, the starstruck gazed at the object of their affection from a distance using filters for safe viewing, of course.

Mondays partial solar eclipse attracted neophytes and astronomy nerds alike to the observatory outside the Telus World of Science for a glimpse of the celestial event. Using technology as varied as a six-inch hydrogen alpha refractor telescope to a pinhole punched in a cereal box, viewers were anxious to see the dark circle of the moon obscure up to 70 percent of the sun.

Its known as one of natures greatest spectacles. We see the sun basically disappear behind a big black disc its something most people have a hard time comprehending. I know I do, myself, said Michael Breitkreutz, a science presenter managing the telescope viewings Monday.

Lucky viewers in a band across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina could see a total solar eclipse where the moon lines up perfectly between the Earth and the Sun, blocking much of the Suns light for several minutes.

In Edmonton, some enthusiasts lined up outside the 11211 142 St. observatory as early as 7 a.m. to get their hands on viewing filters which have sold out across North America. Looking directly at the sun during an eclipse can cause permanent eye damage. In the observatory, people peeked through five telescopes, including the hydrogen alpha refractor, which reveals a red-tinged suns flares and sunspots in higher detail.

Eight-year-old Luken Hicks lined up two hours in advance for his look at the moon taking a bite out of the sun.

He loves science and I love science, and its not very often we get to see this kind of thing, his mom Brytani McLeod said.

Sherwood Park friends Dean Gronman, 18, and Jade Oliver, 18, also lined up early for a look. Gronman had considered travelling to the U.S. to see the full eclipse, but balked when he saw some of the prices. Oliver is into astrology, and the Capricorn has enjoyed reading her horoscopes as the eclipse date approached.

Total eclipses are totally awesome, said 74-year-old David Rolls, as he sat on the grass in Coronation Park Monday morning, an old film camera strapped to the tip of his 9.4-millimetre telescope. He planned to add to his collection of eclipse photographs, some of which have been published in astronomy magazines.

Hes seen total eclipses in Tuktoyuktuk and Manitoba, and plans to travel to Ontario to see another total eclipse in 2024.

The next total solar eclipse viewable from Edmonton will be in 2044. The last one was about 600 years ago, Breitkreutz said.

Fellow astronomy enthusiast Larry Wood kicked back in a lawn chair while strangers lined up to glance into his giant, homemade telescope. The amateur astronomer made the 65-kilogram device in a friends garage about 30 years ago. Children and shorter adults clambered onto a stepladder to peek into the eyepiece on the giant cylinder.

Larry Wood looks through the viewfinder of his homemade telescope during a partial solar eclipse in Coronation Park on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Janet French / Edmonton Journal

Chris Kayes viewing apparatus was slightly less sophisticated. He stood in the park with a cardboard box on his head, a pinhole in the back showing light from a crescent-shaped sun on the inside.

jfrench@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/jantafrench

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Edmonton astronomy buffs take a shine to solar eclipse - Edmonton Journal

Rudi Keller @CDTCivilWar

Stardust has a magical appeal for poets.

Hoagy Carmichaels 1927 song of that name has been recorded more than 1,500 times. Hello Poetry has a seemingly endless page of entries online devoted to it.

And in 1969, Joni Mitchell wrote we are stardust, we are golden, we are million year old carbon in her ode to the music festival at Woodstock.

Angela Speck, the University of Missouris director of astronomy, is StardustSpeck on Twitter and when shes not cheering for the public to look up at 1:12 p.m. Monday to see the total solar eclipse, she studies the stuff that poets prize.

My work is on determining what dust forms, trying to understand why that sort of dust forms and then what is the knock-on effect once youve got that sort of dust, Speck said.

Unfortunately, she said, shes neglected that research.

I really havent done any of my own research for quite some time, Speck said. It will be a relief to get back to it.

For more than three years, Specks time has been consumed by the eclipse. She is a co-chair of the American Astronomical Societys Solar Eclipse Task Force. In November 2015, she predicted Columbia should prepare for 400,000 visitors. The estimates have fallen but she still expects the city to double in population or more on Monday.

That number of visitors would be almost double the largest crowdto see a football game at Memorial Stadium.

Im exhausted. I am so exhausted, Speck said. I am excited. I am waiting for it to come but I would like it to be tomorrow. I want to see it. It is going to be awesome.

Just for the record, the total solar eclipse on Monday will be the first visible in the continental United States since 1979 and the first to cross the continent since 1918. At Broadway and Providence Road in Columbia, the eclipse will begin at 11:45 a.m. as the moon and sun begin to come into alignment. It will reach totality at 21 seconds past 1:12 p.m. The sun will be covered by the moon for 2 minutes and 36 seconds, covering the land in darkness. The eclipse will conclude at 2:40 p.m.

Speck grew up in Yorkshire, England, and attended Queen Mary University in London for undergraduate studies and received her doctorate from University College London.

Specks interest in space began in her childhood, her parents said. Alan Speck, visiting for the eclipse, said he recalls a ride with a friend to Queensbury one day.

It was one of those days when the moon was in the sky at daylight and she explained to us the physical properties as to why the moon was shining in the daylight sky, he said. She was 5 years old.

Her mother, Wendy Speck, attributed the interest to watching a lot of science fiction movies.

Angela Speck said her ambition at that age was to be an astronaut.

It was post Apollo but before the Voyagers were launched, she said. The space mission stuff was still kind of big. I have no recollection of why but I said this is what I am going to do.

Specks career trajectory veered off course for space travel into research and teaching. And it is almost a random occurrence that shes on the MU faculty. She and her husband Alan Whittington applied at several universities.

She was hired as a spousal accommodation when Whittington, now chair of the geology department, was hired.

We both got offered jobs, but Mizzou was the place where we both got to be faculty, Speck said.

Much of Specks time is spent alternately warning that huge crowds would flock to see total eclipse and debunking ridiculous claims and predictions.

Actually an eclipse day is no different from any other day, in terms of what the sun and the moon are doing, Speck said. Theyve got it in their head that this is doing something weird to the earth. No, not really.

There is an eclipse of the sun almost every year, somewhere on earth, Speck said. But the occurrence of a total solar eclipse at any particular location is rare.

The area today called Boone County has not experienced a total solar eclipse since July 7, 1442, and will not see another until June 3, 2505. The next total solar eclipse visible in Missouri will cross the Bootheel on April 8, 2024.

During a news conference for NASA, Speck was asked if animals needed special protection from the eclipse. She replied that animals dont look at the sun when it is not in eclipse and she didnt expect that to change.

Youre sure we dont need to protect animals? she recalled being asked. Im like yeah, I am pretty sure. If you have got a beastie that is particularly sensitive, they dont like it when you switch the light off in the house, then they probably wont like it when the sun gets in the way.

An internet search on Specks name reveals 430 entries in Googles news category. Shes a colorful speaker and journalists love a good quote.

Eclipses are usually in places that are hard to get to, Speck told Wired, just because most of the planet is places that are hard to get to.

She told Space.com that the crowded conditions could resemble a zombie apocalypse. There will hopefully be less bloodshed, but zombies don't need regular food, or sleep, or toilets," Speck said.

Her sons, 10 and 13, havent taken much notice of their mothers celebrity, she said.

They have had a couple of my mom is talking to my class, moments, she said.

On Monday, Speck will do color commentary for KMIZ-TVs eclipse broadcast. She may just be silent when the big moment finally arrives, she said.

But I am loud, so theres a good chance I will want to go, Ooh, look at that, look at that, look at that.

rkeller@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1709

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MU director of astronomy Angela Speck consumed by eclipse for three years - Columbia Daily Tribune

Due to launch together in 2020, the two satellites making up Proba-3 will fly in precise formation to form an external coronagraph in space, one satellite eclipsing the sun to allow the second to study the otherwise invisible solar corona. Credit: ESA

As skywatchers and scientists converge on a transcontinental band of totality for Mondays solar eclipse in the United States, engineers in Europe are building a unique pair of satellites to create artificial eclipses lasting for hours a feat that that could be a boon for solar physicists but will escape the view of Earth-bound spectators.

The European Space Agencys Proba-3 mission, scheduled for launch in late 2020, is made possible by two satellites, one about the size of a refrigerator, and another slightly smaller spacecraft with the rough dimensions of a coffee table.

The basic idea is to fly the smaller satellite directly between the sun and the field-of-view of cameras and instruments mounted on the bigger spacecraft, blocking the sunlight and revealing the glow of the Suns corona, or super-hot atmosphere, and filament-like eruptions called solar flares.

The light coming from the surface of the Sun is a million times brighter than the corona, requiring special measures to see the solar atmosphere.

The concept of obstructing the brightest light emanating from the sun to study activity around it is not new. Scientists have made observations of the corona for centuries during solar eclipses, and there are other space missions that carry coronagraphs, light-blocking discs buried inside telescopes used to make the relatively dim solar atmosphere visible.

But coronagraphs mounted inside telescopes are prone to stray light, a common problem in optics. Light escaping around the coronagraph disc can distort or mask views of the corona.

One simple way to think of the stray light problem is to compare an image of a total solar eclipse, a spectacular phenomenon where the faint corona suddenly springs into view. Holding your thumb over the sun at arms length does not produce the same result because sunlight has already been scattered by particles in Earths atmosphere.

One of the science goals of Proba-3 is to reproduce the conditions of a total solar eclipse as much as possible, said Andrei Zhukov, principal investigator for Proba-3s coronagraph at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, in response to questions from Astronomy Now.

In general, the longer the distance between an observer or a camera and the object obscuring the sun, the better the result. Scientists also do not have to worry about atmospheric distortions in space.

This problem can be minimised by extending the coronagraph length, the distance between the camera and the disc, as far as possible but there are practical limits to coronagraph size, Zhukov said in an ESA press release.

Instead, Proba-3s coronagraph uses two craft: a camera satellite and a disc satellite, Zhukov said. They fly together so precisely that they operate like a single coronagraph, 150 metres (492 feet) long.

The duo will launch together into an highly elliptical, oval-shaped orbit around Earth taking the satellites as high as 37,611 miles (60,530 kilometres) and as low as 372 miles (600 kilometres).

In that orbit, the satellites will complete one lap around the planet every 19.6 hours. For six of those hours, cameras on Proba-3s larger satellite will have an artificial eclipse.

Proba-3 will see the features down to 34,500 miles (55,600 kilometers) from the sun about 8 percent of the solar radius resolving activity closer to the solar limb than any current space mission. Zhukov said ground-based observers looking at a total solar eclipse can still see more of the corona than Proba-3, but the advantage of a space mission is the eclipses longevity.

During two years of its nominal mission, Proba-3 will provide around 1,000 hours of coronal observations, Zhukov wrote in an email to Astronomy Now. This has to be compared with several minutes of duration of natural eclipses during the same time.

Proba-3 will also be free from disturbances produced by the Earths atmosphere in all astronomical observations, Zhukov wrote.

ESA is developing the Proba-3 mission as an experimental demonstration, with scientific observations of the sun a secondary goal.

Engineers want to test out technologies for autonomous formation flying on Proba-3, which will use ranging measurements with the help of GPS navigation signals and optical sensors.

The two spacecraft will be connected with an inter-satellite radio link, and the so-called occulter satellite the smaller of the pair will carry low-power micro-thrusters for fine maneuvers, keeping the two vehicles positioned with millimetre precision.

Proba-3 will create an eclipse when the satellites are farthest from Earth. The satellites will passively drift apart during the rest of each orbit, a fuel-saving measure to minimise consumption of the missions limited supply of propellant.

The capabilities to be proved out on Proba-3 could be used on future missions to repair satellites in orbit or return samples from Mars, according to ESA.

Already approved for development as a tech demo mission, Proba-3 won the backing of ESAs science programme committee earlier this year. The agencys scientific division will pay for Proba-3s science operations center to ensure astronomers get the most out of the project.

Proba-3 was scheduled for launch in 2019, but officials recently pushed back the missions liftoff to the fourth quarter of 2020.

The complexity in the development of the formation flying technology does not allow the launch in late 2019 as was planned earlier, Zhukov said. The project schedule is now consolidated, and the launch in the fourth quarter of 2020 is the new baseline. That does look feasible.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Pioneering ESA mission aims to create artificial solar eclipses - Astronomy Now Online

Adam Poulisse Staff writer @adampoulisse

ROCKFORD Duane Ingram has seen, and been a part of, some pretty impressive science in his lifetime.

TheLoves Park resident taught astronomy and physics at Rock Valley College, owns Ingram Scientific Consultants and has studied the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, through the University of Iowa.

But at 79 years old,he's still not seen atotal solar eclipse. On Monday, that will change.

Ingram and his wife are traveling to Columbia, Missouri, to get an unobstructed view of "The Great American Eclipse" when the moon will pass between the Sun and Earth, casting a 70 mile-wide shadow that will move from coast to coast.

The rare celestial event marks the first total solar eclipse that can be viewed from the contiguous U.S. since Feb. 26, 1979. Along the path of totality that covers a swath ofthe country from South Carolina to Oregon, the sun will be completely blocked by the moon for about 2 1/2 minutes. It mirrors the path the solar eclipse of June 1918 took from Florida to Washington.

"There were a couple that I thought Id see but didnt," Ingram said. "This time, Im retired; its my time. Im going to see it.

Ingram is traveling to Missouri to be in the path of totality. TheRockfordregion is just outside the path, so wewon't get a full eclipse. But with 88 percent of the sun covered,residents can expect aneat show providing the weather is clear, according to Jim Dole, director of the Doug Firebaugh Observatory in Freeport, 2892 W. Stephenson St., andastronomy teacher at Highland Community College. The National Weather Service is calling for partly sunny skies with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

The eclipse will begin around 11:45 a.m. and last until about 2:40 p.m. Maximum coverage, when the area will be the darkest,will happen around 1:15 p.m.

"You should be able to step outside and there should be an eerie, silvery gray look in the sky," Dole said. "The birds and animals will be changing a bit, thinking it's nighttime."

Don'tplan to view the space event at any of the area observatories though, nobody will be there to operate them.

Dole and the eight-person volunteerstaff are traveling across the countryto experience the full solar eclipse. Dole is traveling to Beatrice, Nebraska, a prime viewing spot about an hour south of Lincoln that is expecting thousands of people, including NASA officials and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

But many people plan to view the eclipse right here, partaking in family-friendlyviewing parties and other activities.

"There are solar eclipses around the year, but with three-fourths of the planet being covered in water, a majority of them fall over the oceans," Dole said. "This path of totality is fantastic."

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Events galore

Boone County Conservation District and Ida Public Library will host a Solar Eclipse Viewing Partybeginning at 11:30 a.m. Monday inSpencer Park, 899 N. Appleton Road in Belvidere. Food trucks, crafts, a NASA livestream from other parts of the country and other activities are planned. Solar eclipse viewing glasses will be given to the first 500 guests. Solar eclipse handouts and free commemorative buttons will be distributed.

Nature at the Confluence Learning Center, 306 Dickop St. in South Beloit, in partnership with the South Beloit and Beloit libraries, is hosting a celebrationat 11:30 a.m. There will be arts and crafts, treats, a fire-starting competition using the sun's rays and more.

The eclipse also marks the first day of the new school year for Rockford Public Schools, and some classes will be participating in eclipse-related learning activities.

Communities in southern Illinois havebeen deemed a prime viewing spot and will have plenty of events planned to celebrate the phenomenon. About 200,000 visitors are expected to travel to the region over the weekend. The eclipse's greatest duration will happen in Carbondale and the village of Makanda, at 2 minutes, 42 seconds. Several events are planned including:

The four-day Moonstock Music Festival in Carterville headlined by the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne.

A canoe trip down the cypress swamp on the Cache Riverduring totality.

Bald Knob Cross in Alto Pass will provide an unobstructed view of the eclipse.

The Adler Planetarium of Chicago, the Louisiana Space Consortium and NASA will host a viewing event at Saluki Stadium at Southern Illinois University.

Jeff Carpenter of Roscoe has a campsite reserved in Carbondale, but declined to say exactlywhere so he doesn't give away his prime viewing spot.

"Itll be nice to see and add to the list of things Ive seen in the universe," he said. "Ive seen so many pictures (of total solar eclipses), I need to see one for myself.

Dole said he chose to travel west because there's a higher chance of visibility in Nebraska than in southern Illinois.

While some are traveling, others are looking forward to seeing the 88 percent solar eclipsein Rockford.

Terri Carpenter of Machesney Park is getting off work at noon just in time to watch theeclipse at its highest point.

"Hopefully it'll bring good energy with everything happening in the world," she said.

Safe specs

Scientists and astronomers are warning spectators to be safe when viewing the eclipse because, while it's neat to behold, staring at the sun can cause permanent eye damage.

"Without special filters, even if it's 99 percent of the sun is covered, you need eye protection; we're going to be at about 90 percent coverage," Dole said. "You're not going to feel (damage) until the next few days when your vision is fuzzy and distorted."

Eclipse glasses have been handed out at local libraries and observatories to allow viewers to safely look at the event. Glasses and hand-held viewers should meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard. No. 14 arc welder's glass can also be used to safely view the eclipse directly.

UTC Aerospace Systems Rockford's Space Business and Community Leadership Club is donating about 1,000 pair of safety glasses to Maud E. Johnson and A.C. Thompson elementary schools as part of its effort to support STEM education in local communities, spokesman Tim Schmeling said.

"The Rockford employees are currently working on life support systems and thermal control systems for NASAs Orion vehicle, intended for deep space missions like Mars, and thought the glasses donation would be a good way to share their passion for space exploration with the students," he said. "The glasses themselves are not manufactured by the business."

And don't forget about the family pets.

Though they won't be as inclined to look directly at theeclipse as we will be, revelries such as fireworks and other commotion to celebrate the event could stress them out, said Kari Kobus, a veterinarian at Hillcrest Animal Hospital on Alpine Road.

"The biggest issue with pets, in any event, is how we react," Kobus said. "If we're stressed and overly excited, they're going to get stressed and overly excited."

Domesticated animals won't react like wildlife will during the eclipse since they operate on a similar schedule as us. Since it'll get pretty dark during maximum coverage, Kobus said, "It'll look like a horrible thunderstorm is passing over the area." It's important to keep pets close and make sure they don't have away to escape if any sudden noises spook them.

If you miss this eclipse, you can catch the next one on April 8, 2024.

"For not seeing one in my life, then seeing two in seven years, that's fantastic," Dole said. "Millions of people going to see first at least onefor the first time in their lives. It's really been a boost for astronomy."

Adam Poulisse: 815-987-1344; apoulisse@rrstar.com; @adampoulisse

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Astronomy buffs traveling for eclipse, viewing events to take place across region - Rockford Register Star

Astronomers across the ages have looked up to the skies and marveled at eclipses.

Using different numerical systems, the Aztecs and the Mayans observed eclipses and could predict with precision when the next one would occur. In fact, they could have predicted Mondays solar eclipse with small margins of error, experts say.

DONT MISS THE ECLIPSE: Where to watch it in Central Texas

Anthony Aveni is a retired professor from Colgate University and author of many books on archaeoastronomy, including In the Shadow of the Moon: The Science, Magic, and Mystery of Solar Eclipses. According to Aveni, the Aztecs used to say they designed the founding of the city of Tenochtitln where modern-day Mexico City now sits to coincide with an eclipse in 1325.

Its a way of saying, Thats when our empire began, connect that with the beginning. (Its) probably not true, he said, but saying the citys foundation coincided with an eclipse helped give it more importance.

The Aztecs registered many eclipses, and its possible their calendar stone depicts the death of the sun god Tonatiuh at the hands of an eclipse monster, said Susan Milbrath, curator emeritus of the Museum of Natural history in Florida, in a recent New York Times special section about eclipses.

The Mayans also left a record of their astronomical knowledge in books known as codices, especially in the Dresden Codex. The book now resides in Germany and is one of only four codices to survive Spanish colonial officials burning of the books, Aveni said.

This codex has a famous chart of eclipses that suggests the Mayans were watching the sky every bit as carefully as the Babylonians, who might have been the first to keep a record of a total solar eclipse, Aveni said.

DONT STARE: Some tips when watching the eclipse over Austin

Religion, everyday life and science were deeply connected for the Mayans, who used a vigesimal or 20-based numerical system for their calculations. Instead of seven days, for instance, the Mayan week had 20, which corresponded to the number of fingers and toes a person has. They used this system to calculate everything from child gestation to the movement of celestial bodies.

This is an example of scientific cultural diversity, Aveni said. The Mayans had this religious, ritual dictate that any cycle in heaven had to fit perfectly with the cycles of the human body, and other cycles that we dont pay attention to.

The Mayans were way ahead of their time, Aveni said, and we tend to put them down, to say its superstition, but they were doing things quite comparable to what we say we know about eclipses.

Something most of us can agree on, Aveni said, is that when watching an eclipse, we all stop what were doing, we see something unusual and we remember that we all did it at the same time.

It unifies cultures, he said.

Watching the eclipse in Central Texas

Mondays solar eclipse, dubbed the Great American Eclipse, will be seen from Oregons coast near Salem to Charleston, S.C. The next one in the U.S. will not occur until April 8, 2024, when one is expected to start in Mexico, passing through Texas and Maine, and reaching Canada.

Austin will only get to view a partial eclipse Monday.

Several places in Central Texas will hold eclipse viewing parties Monday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit statesman.com/eclipse for a list of tips, locations and other information.

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Aztecs, Mayans marveled at eclipses and predicted them with precision - MyStatesman.com

Artist's illustration of the star system Kepler-444, whose five planets were discovered by the Kepler space telescope as they passed in front of their star, dimming its light. All five orbit the star within less than 10 days.

Paul Sutter is an astrophysicist at The Ohio State University and the chief scientist at COSI science center. Sutter leads science-themed tours around the world at AstroTouring.com. Sutter contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

As we prepare for the upcoming total solar eclipse set to cross the continental United States on Aug. 21, the mechanics of the event are pretty straightforward to explain: Occasionally the sun, moon and Earth end up in straight line, and when they do, the moon casts its shadow on the Earth. Voila: eclipse!

From our perspective here on the surface of the Earth, it appears as if the disk of the moon covers the face of the sun. You have to be near or at totality when the sun is fully covered to notice the sun's dimming with your unaided eyes. However, sophisticated light-measuring instruments can easily pick up even the slightest hint of reduction in sunlight no matter the extent of the eclipse.

Now let's play a game. Let's say you attached these keen instruments to a telescope and you rocketed a few light-years away from the solar system. And instead of observing the sun-moon eclipse, you stared at the sun as the Earth meandered in its orbit. If you lined everything up just right and stared long enough, eventually you would get to see the tiny planet cross the face of its massive sun. [Total Solar Eclipse 2017: Here Are the Best Live-Video Streams to Watch]

With enough dedication to your astronomical duties, you could conceivably measure a dip in brightness as the Earth entered the edge of the sun, and a return to normalcy as the planet moved on.

Let's take it to the extreme: You're so far away that you can't even see a tiny dot representing the Earth. Could you still measure the telltale dip in brightness? Well, measuring the light output of a star is much easier than hunting for an insignificant speck of a rocky world, so I suppose with enough technological progress one could achieve it.

And imagine this: What if we did this all the time? Well, we do. This hunting for subtle eclipses is our primary method for detecting exoplanets planets outside the solar system, orbiting their own host stars. Of course, astronomers don't call it "subtle eclipse method," but rather the "transit method."

This method allows us to find exoplanets big and small orbiting stars of all sizes and ages. Over 4,000 planets and counting! We haven't found an exact match for Earth yet but we're getting closer to finding a match with every new planet detected.

The transit method isn't perfect, of course; it relies on a chance alignment among the star, the exoplanet and us. If that planet just happens to orbit perpendicular to our line of sight, we're out of luck. Thankfully, there are, to put it mildly, many stars out there, even within our nearby galactic neighborhood, so enough coincidences occur to give us a solid census of our celestial cousins.

So, as you're feasting your eyes on the upcoming solar eclipse, you might wonder if some distant observer is also enjoying the event.

Follow Paul @PaulMattSutter and facebook.com/PaulMattSutter. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

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How Astronomers Use Eclipses to Discover Alien Worlds - Space.com

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Astronomy Magazine

WAUKESHA -- On Monday, August 21st millions of people will see an astronomical event a century in the making as a solar eclipse is expected Monday, August .

Inside the offices of Astronomy Magazine, final preparations are underway for what, in effect, is their Super Bowl.

Were actually kind of forecasting this is going to be the most-viewed eclipse ever," said Associate Editor Alison Klesman.

Alison Klesman

Astronomy Magazine

Mondays total solar eclipse will be the first seen in the United States since February 26, 1979, and the first to travel from coast to coast since June 8th, 1918.

Its the only time that you get night during the daytime," Klesman said, describing the appeal of these astronomical phenomenons. "If youre in the path of totality, I believe its about as bright as a full moon.

Alison Klesman

The Waukesha-based magazine is circulated worldwide to over 100,000 people. And the website has seen a 30% increase in traffic over last year.

"Its something that you dont get to see every day," said Klesman. "And may only get to see a couple times in your lifetime depending on whether youre able to travel to it or where it happens."

A solar eclipse by itself is not altogether rare. But they are often only visible somewhere over the ocean or in unpopulated areas. This eclipse is historic because it will pass over the entire continental United States, including right over several large cities.

Astronomy Magazine

"The United States has a lot of people in it," said Klesman. "Its got a really good road infrastructure. So people can get to this eclipse."

Astronomy Magazine has editors leading eclipse trips around the U.S. And their website will have a 4K livestream of the eclipse passing over Denver on Monday.

The eclipse has given us a boost, but were hoping to keep that," Klesman said. "To get people interested in astronomy and to stay interested in astronomy.

After all, we wont have to wait nearly as long for the next total eclipse. Thats coming to the U.S. on April 4th, 2024.

Here in the Milwaukee, the moon will cover about 83 percent of the sun -- but Astronomy Magazine's website will host a livestream from Denver, with the Total Solar Eclipse in 4K quality.

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Astronomy Magazine: Monday's solar event expected to be most-viewed eclipse ever - fox6now.com

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Its path of totality starts near Portland, Oregon and ends through South Carolina. Californians will only see a partial eclipse Monday, unless they get out of town.

Jim McAlister left Sacramento on Friday to make his way up to southern Oregon. To him, it is a rare opportunity and an adventure.

He's brought his bike, a cooler and everything he needs.

Ralph Merletti, a science teacher and member of the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society, will leave for the path of totality Saturday morning. He's headed to the Oregon-Idaho border. He's bringing his telescope, binoculars and camera.

This will be Merletti's fifth solar eclipse. For decades he's traveled the world to see solar eclipses.

He calls it "the Super Bowl of astronomy."

Sacramento CHP wants people who are staying in California for the partial eclipse to also keep safety in mind.

They warn that it is important to pull over to the side of the road while trying to photograph the event. While driving, never wear eclipse glasses and be sure to turn headlights on if necessary. Also, be on the lookout for distracted drivers and pedestrians.

Link:

'Super Bowl of Astronomy': Sacramentans Leave for Total Eclipse - FOX40

An animated gif shows the artist's interpretation of a brown dwarf with clouds.

Failed stars can end up with weather more turbulent than gas giant planets and NASA JPL researchers are now getting a peek into how and why.

Brown dwarfs are objects that formed like stars and gained quite a bit of mass, but failed to begin fusing hydrogen into helium. Some can be quite hot, while others are remarkably cool. Researchers have studied the weather patterns on these massive objects (up to 70 times the mass of Jupiter), discovering weird cloud patterns that bulge up and dissolve throughout the course of an Earth day.

JPL researchers found that gravity waves in the atmosphere are pushing material through bands of clouds. Stars act more like boiling, bubbling cauldrons, so this is more akin to behavior seen on Jupiter or Saturn.

This finding complicates the identity of brown dwarfs. They form like stars, gas envelopes that gradually compress in, whereas planets start with a rocky core and accumulate mass. But they also have storms and banded clouds, giving them behaviors that act much more like giant planets.

So the mystery of how these storms move has been solved. But brown dwarfs still have plenty in store for us to discover.

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Failed stars may act more like giant planets - Astronomy Magazine

Millions of people will gaze into the sky Monday to view a total solar eclipse as the moons shadow crosses the United States from Oregon to South Carolina.

The path of this shadow is called the path of totality.

You have to be somewhere in that 3,000-mile path to see a total eclipse, said David White, known as the Astronomy Man who gave a night-sky presentation at Chino Hills State Park two weeks ago. When the moon is between the earth and sun, and the moon blocks the sun, it will be night-time in that path.

When he watched the solar eclipse in Hawaii in 1991, he heard cattle on the hillside moo because the sky grew dark as if it was night-time.

Residents in Chino Valley will only see a partial eclipse, said Erik Simonsen of Chino Hills. The aviation author is known for his stunning photography and recorded observations of sky phenomena.

The moon will start to block the sun around 9:05 a.m.

At 10:22 a.m., it will reach maximum coverage, though residents in Chino and Chino Hills won't see a total eclipse.

Its going to be a spectacular event, but in our area, it may just seem like a hazy day, he said, adding that 62.2 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon.

He said the only time viewers can safely look up is when the moon is completely covered by the sun.

The total eclipse will last 2 minutes and 40 seconds, Mr. Simonsen said.

He predicted millions of people will head for the path of totality. He said hotels near St. Louis and Nashville are solidly booked at rates of $1,500 per night.

This event is so widely publicized Im afraid many people will damage their eyes, he said. A lot of people are trying to make a buck by selling phony eclipse glasses that arent safe.

Mr. White, who lives in Fontana, said even a glance at the sun can damage the eyes.

You may not feel it, but it can be devastating later in life, he said. Because its a thermal injury, the nerve cannot regrow. These injuries can dramatically increase sight deprivation as we age.

Mr. White suggested moon watching as a safe alternative.

Viewers with imagination may be able to see a rabbit while others can see a lady wearing a diamond necklace.

The Japanese see a frog on the moon, he noted.

Residents may view the eclipse safely by visiting nasa.gov where the eclipse will be covered live beginning at 9 a.m.

News, images, and videos are also on the website.

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Eclipse advice from Astronomy Man - Chino Champion

Anticipation is mounting over Monday's rare opportunity to witnessa total solar eclipse cutting across the entire United States.How much people will see, dependson where they live. The totalsolar eclipse will bevisible from Oregon to South Carolina, along a 65 mile wide path.

Members of the North Bay Astronomy Club will start setting up their telescopes around noon Monday in preparation for what will be a partial eclipse forthis area.

"We're not actually going to see much darkness here because the moon is only going to cover about 65 percent of the sun. So there's still going to be lots of sun light visible," explained club member, Merlin Clayton.

Clayton says the peak time to watch will bearound 2:20..

"Ten after one is the first contact when the moon just starts to slightly move into the sun, then at 3:40 in the afternoon, it's all done, the moon is finally leaving the sun. So in between that, we're going to be viewing the sun and seeing what the eclipse looks like."

Telescopes will be set up in the grassy area near "The Boat" restaurant.

"We have different types of telescopes. I have two of them that I'll be bringing down, and they've got a solar filter on the front that takes out 98% of the heat and the light, so we can look right through our telescopes safely at the sun,"explained Clayton.

"I've got another telescope called a Hydrogen Alpha Telescope and it gives a totally different view. When you're looking through that telescope, around the sun its totally black and you'll see flares coming off the side of the sun, which is kind of neat to look at."

The public is encouraged to use the telescopes and talk to the members.

"Definitely. We want as many people down there as we can to view this rare eclipse and enjoy it. I love talking about things like this, so the more questions, the better."

Clayton can't stress enough the importance of usingproper eye protection to prevent permanent damage from happening.The club is handing out ISO approved sunglasses free of charge. He says the glasses are made from the same material as the solar filter on his telescope.

"I've got ISO safety approved solar sunglasses that you can put on over your regular glasses and view the sun that way. You have to check each time you're going to look through them, that there's no holes or scratches in the lens because they're made out of very thin tin foil, so they can get damaged easily. Make sure that they're in very good shape before you put them on. You put them on first and then you look up to the sun so you don't get any rays of the sun into your eye."

In the United States, the U.S. FireAdministration has issued a warning that there may be counterfeit sunglasses and viewersbeing sold in that country.

"Only glasses and viewers verified by an accredited testing laboratory to meet ISO 12312-2 are safe to use when viewing the eclipse. NASA recommends that eclipse watchers refer to the American Astronomical Society website for a list of reputable vendors selling solar glasses and viewers."

Clayton remembers where he was 38 years ago for the last total solar eclipse viewed'from the contiguous United States', back in 1979.

"I was out at the old Sunset Public School on Lakeshore Drive and I had two classes come out, and I had my solar filter on my telescopes, and the kids had a look through them. That was quite awhile a go," he laughs.

"Trying to get another solar eclipse over our area is difficult, but onAugust 11th, 2024, if you're in Toronto, you're going to see a total eclipse. So everybody is going to head to Toronto or Southern Ontario to view that."

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Astronomy Club setting up telescopes for public viewing of Monday's eclipse - BayToday

TheSpec.com

McMaster astronomy club offers public safe viewing of dangerous ... TheSpec.com Looking at the solar eclipse is very dangerous. Special glasses and lenses are needed. A McMaster astronomy club is offering safe viewing. and more »

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McMaster astronomy club offers public safe viewing of dangerous ... - TheSpec.com

SAVANNAH EVANOFF @SavannahEnwfdn

If the 2017 total solar eclipse reignites your love for space and astronomy, you need to check out the Northwest Florida Astronomy Association.

Tom Haugh, the outreach coordinator, said it is the communitys resource for astronomy accuracy. Whether its a rumor about Mars being bigger than the moon or a question about what to do with an old telescope sitting in the closet, the club can help.

I get all the time, Hey, my kid's interested in astronomy. His birthday is coming up. What telescope should I buy? Haugh said. Thats like asking, Hey, I need a car, which is the best one?

Community members can attend club meetings or events to learn about astronomy, ask questions and receive technical help. The group encourages visitors to bring their own telescopes, Haugh said.

The Northwest Florida Astronomy Association donated telescopes to five libraries to check out: Fort Walton Beach Public Library, Hurlburt Field Base Library, Crestview Public Library, Valparaiso Community Library and Niceville Public Library.

You can check out a telescope and take it home, Haugh said. It comes with star charts and instructions and everything you need to start your astronomy adventure.

The organization encourages families to join or attend events. It even offers ladders for shorter observers to use the telescopes.

The group hosts meetings at 7 p.m. the fourth Saturday of every month at the Northwest Florida State Colleges observatory, Building 750, 100 E. College Blvd., Niceville.

Saturn is one of the groups favorite objects to view, Haugh said.

You can tell when this is the first time somebody has seen Saturn, Haugh said. You dont have to ask them the question: 'Did you see it? When somebody first sees Saturn, theres almost always a vocal response, I can see the rings, It looks just like (in) the books.

"To see a parent, child or a grandparent have just that one spark. Thats worth it.

For more information on the Northwest Florida Astronomy Association and its upcoming events, visit nwfastro.org.

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Everything you need to know about the Northwest Florida Astronomy ... - The Northwest Florida Daily News

Everen Brown has chased eclipses to every continent. Hes seen them from a rural village in the African country of Gabon, the Gobi Desert, Easter Island and a Russian icebreaker in the waters around Antarctica.

And this week he followed the celestial event to Casper, the first place within driving distance of his Utah home.

It never gets old, he said Wednesday, surrounded by a small portion of his collection of space memorabilia. Every eclipse is flavored by its location.

For serious eclipse chasers, the days leading to the event are stressful, he said. People worry endlessly about the weather, about having the right equipment into the midday dusk, about being in the right location with the best view. Browns unfazed, however. This is his tenth eclipse after all.

Anxiety about the phenomenon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most people was evident in the bits of conversations floating through the halls of the Parkway Plaza Hotel during the first day of AstroCon, the annual convention for astronomy fans organized by the Astronomical League. People fretted in the hallways about the early weather forecasts for the big day and the expected crowds.

But anxious chatter was also interspersed with excited conversations almost unintelligible to an outsider. Telescope salesmen bantered amicably about their trade, swapping numbers and acronyms with ease. People wearing a variety of eclipse-themed t-shirts (one of the most popular designs demanded Where will YOU be on August 21, 2017?) introduced themselves and gushed about the main event.

More than 900 people signed up for the conference this year hundreds more than the usual attendance, said Charlene Bradley, one of the staff members in charge of registration. By noon on Wednesday, more than 600 attendees had already arrived in Casper.

The license plates in the parking lot showed the distances people traveled. Several Colorado plates were joined by the likes of California, Michigan, Maryland, Illinois and Florida. A map inside the registration room showed that some attendees have come even farther: Australia, Germany, Russia, Spain, Peru.

Along with field trips to local museums and a series of talks by prominent scientists and writers, including NASAs own eclipse expert, attendees can browse dozens of booths set up in the exhibition hall.

Thats where Brown showed off his collection of space memorabilia for sale and tried to gauge others interest in a trip to Antarctica for the eclipse that will occur there in 2021. By early afternoon on Wednesday only a few hours in to the conferences four days he had already gathered the names of several potential cruise mates.

The small portion of his stockpile extras Brown doesnt want and doesnt mind selling included Apollo 11 commemorative cups, postcards, Apollo 17 earrings, lapel pins, necklaces, magnets, even spoons. Brown couldnt begin to estimate how many pieces are in his entire collection. Instead, he put it this way: A few years ago he bought 1,700 pounds of memorabilia from one man. And thats only a portion of his collection.

But of all the trinkets he brought, he was most proud of a pin he designed himself featuring the jackalypse, the dark image of a jackalope eclipsed over the sun.

I may have gotten a little carried away, he said with a laugh. But its a good way to have fun and destress.

Other vendors hawked a variety of products, ranging from space-themed soap to high-end telescopes worth tens of thousands of dollars. In the opposite corner from Brown, a couple sold something a little different: real-estate for the avid astronomer.

Tom and Marla Simstad moved to a mountain range in rural southern New Mexico after retiring from real estate development in Indiana. There, they hoped to have access to beautiful night skies unfettered by unnatural light.

However, they feared that neighbors would eventually move nearby and pollute the night sky with their light. So they bought the entire mountain, all 170 acres, in the hopes of creating a haven for those who love to peer into the night sky.

Its just like a golf community, except for astronomers, Marla said.

Since 2004, they have developed a number of home sites and are now joined by 12 other full time residents in their community, the New Mexico Skies Astronomy Enclave, along with 35 who are there part-time or have not yet relocated to the mountain. Its not uncommon for landowners to build their backyard observatory domes before they put down foundations for their homes, Marla said.

Several fellow vendors walked up and said hello while the Simstads handed out pamphlets to the people who passed by their booth. The couple have met a number of people while traveling the astronomy convention circuit to promote their community. Those initial introductions later turn into lunches and real friendships, Marla said. Now when they travel to a convention or trade show, they almost always know somebody there.

Its really a community, she said.

Follow crime and courts reporter Elise Schmelzer on Twitter @eliseschmelzer

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Travelers from around the world share eclipse camaraderie, anxiety at astronomy conference - Casper Star-Tribune Online

On Monday afternoon, the moon will move in front of the sun, creating a solar eclipse.

South Florida wont see a total eclipse -- you'll have to travel a bit farther north. But many people here have plans to watchthe partial eclipse, including Dr. James Webb, head of Florida International Universitys Stocker AstroScience Center.

Webb researches and teaches on space, but he's also a talented guitarist. He's combined his passions to release an astronomy-themed album called "Reaching For the Stars." Webb also performs regularly at lectures and events on FIU'scampus.

"I grew up in the '60s and '70swith a lot of good bands around, and I loved the music. But I was always left a little bit cold by the words," Webb said. "I thought if they could have true astronomical meaning, that would be cool. Nobody does that, so I started writing my own songs about astronomy."

WLRNs Kate Stein spoke with Webb about his musical influences, the new NASA telescope that's NOT named after him andhow to see the eclipse safely(he recommends solar glasses or -- since many manufacturers are sold out -- making a pinhole camera).

Webb is scheduled to perform at FIU'seclipse watch party, which starts noon Monday at the StockerAstroScience Center on the Modesto A. Maidique campus.

Original post:

Eclipse Safety With The Bob Dylan Of Astronomy: FIU Professor Studies And Sings About The Stars - WLRN

GREAT FALLS On Monday, a total solar eclipse will pass over North America, the first time one has crossed completely over the continent since 1979.

The path of 100 percent totality will pass through parts of Wyoming, Idaho, and South Dakota.

Most of Montana will see a partial solar eclipse, where sun obscuration will be greater than 80 percent, and more than 90 percent in parts of southern Montana. In Helena the moon will obscure just over 93 percent of the sun, darkening the sky over the Capital City.

John Thomas, thepresident of the Central Montana Astronomy Society,is traveling with a group to a remote campsitenear Idaho Fallsto view Mondays total solar eclipse.

We thought that by starting in January to find reservations that we wouldnt have any problems, he said. We were wrong there. We were just flat lucky that we found this place that were going to.

Thomas said the Societyhas looked forward to theevent for the past sixor sevenyears. This will be his first total solar eclipse.

I have seen a couple of partial eclipses, he said. Ive never seen an annular eclipse, never seen one of those, so thats on my bucket list.

Thomas said there are several eclipses in the futureincluding one in 2024 and another in 2044 butneither will follow the same path as Mondays eclipse making it a unique experience for viewers fromcoast to coast.

Its going to cover almost 4,000 miles across the United States totaland more people will see this than have ever seen an eclipse in recorded history, he said.

Hell taketwo telescopes along for the trip so he can view the sunin generaland specialized lights. The telescopes computerized mountalso featuresa GPS that will help Thomas track the eclipse.

My cameras would be mounted on the telescopes looking through the scopes and tracking the eclipse the whole time were observing it, he said.

He added that even with the impressive technology thats been developed to view events like a solar eclipse, its just as important to take a step back and enjoy the night with your naked eye.

Dont spend all your time taking pictures, dont spend all your time looking through the scope there, he said. Spend about 30 seconds looking at it with your eyes cause youre not going to see it again yknow?

Thomas said the groups campsite shouldgeta clear view of Mondays eclipse.The campsite is around 9,000 feet in elevation and they hope to beat any smoke in the air.

Excerpt from:

Montana astronomy group travels to Idaho to view eclipse - KTVH