Clouds are forecast for several island communities on Saturday, but skywatchers will still try to catch a glimpse of the rare “annular” solar eclipse, named after the Latin word for “annular.” I will never stop.
Clouds are expected to roll over some island communities on Saturday, but that won’t stop skywatchers from trying to catch a glimpse of the rare “annular” solar eclipse. Its name comes from the Latin word annulus, which means ring.
The name comes from the solar eclipse’s so-called “ring of fire” effect, in which the outer edge of the sun shines from behind the moon, which cannot be seen on the islands or elsewhere in British Columbia. said a local expert.
Instead, local watchers will see a crescent or claw shape forming on the sun during the event.
The solar eclipse is scheduled to occur from after 8 a.m. to around 10:30 a.m.
Randy Enkin, director of the Royal Astronomical Society’s Victoria Center, said the moon would start “gnawing” at the sun about 30 minutes after sunrise, with the peak impact in Victoria expected to be at 9:19 a.m. Canada.
The moon will pass in front of the sun, Enkin said, but it won’t be large enough to completely block the moon, allowing sunlight to pass through. “Imagine the moon being in the middle of the sun.”
When the sun is completely blocked, it will be a total solar eclipse, which will occur on April 8, 2024, he said.
Saturday’s solar eclipse is due to “this huge, crazy cosmic coincidence where the moon and sun appear to be about the same size,” he said. In fact, the sun is 400 times larger than the moon, but also 400 times farther from Earth, Enkin said.
He said he was optimistic about the viewing conditions for the eclipse. “As long as you can see the sun’s disk, you can see the moon taking it out of its disk,” Enkin said. “The clouds are thin so there’s no problem.”
However, he warned that no one should look directly at the sun during an annular solar eclipse.
If you can’t get certified solar viewing glasses, which Enkin says are difficult to find at the moment, he suggests using what he calls a “projection method.”
He said you can stand with your back to the eclipse and use either binoculars, a colander or a piece of paper with some holes to project the image. “Then you will be able to safely enjoy the changing shape of the sun,” he said. “Don’t improvise using things like welding glasses.”
He said the closest place to see the Pacific Ring of Fire would be in Oregon.
In British Columbia, Enkin said, people in areas with sufficiently clear skies will see about 80 per cent of the sun obscured by what they see as a crescent moon.
Victoria is said to be the best place in the country to see the annular solar eclipse. “No city in Canada can see more of the moon’s shadow than Victoria.”
Enkin said the activity will be on the east side, with places like Clover Point, Cattle Point and Tolmie Mountain sure to be popular with the curious.
Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory will host a solar eclipse event from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday at the Center of the Universe, 5071 West Saanich Rd.
• For tickets and information, visit: centreoftheuniverse.org/events and click October 14th.
jbell@timescolonist.com
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