The Total Solar Eclipse is happening Monday morning!
It’s an exciting phenomena to see, especially for everyone in Wyoming, as it is crossing border to border of the Cowboy State.
The Eclipse can also a potentially dangerous phenomena to watch, if one were to look directly at the sun during the peak of the Eclipse.
During the Eclipse, the moon blocks the sun from the Earth completely or partially. Occurring during the day, they can only be seen by a certain small portion of people who travel to be in it’s path of totality, and Wyoming is in that path.
A Total Eclipse is very rare. The moon covers the whole sun because it is closer to Earth.
So here is your How To for watching the Eclipse tomorrow with information from students from the Sweetwater BOCES Summer Residence Astronomy Camp, 2017.
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Rock Springs
- See EXACT Eclipse time and info for Rock Springs HERE.
How To:
While watching the Eclipse happen, as an important safety concern for the eyes, remember to wear Eclipse glasses!
The Solar Eclipse is divided into four contact times, C1, C2, C3, C4.
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Contact 1:
- C1 is when the moon first touches the sun. This takes a little more than an hour. Right before C2, you may see Shadow Bands. The Diamond Ring and Baily’s Beads that follow are sure to occur.
- Animals will start acting like it is almost night. Also, the temperature will start to drop and bugs will come out.
- Never look directly at the sun. Use solar eclipse glasses to watch these phenomenon.
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Contact 2:
- C2 is when the moon completely covers the sun and totality begins. During this phase, you can see what looks like a 360 degree sunrise; it gets completely dark and there is a faint pink ring around the sun. You can also see constellations like Leo the Lion, and its prominent star, Regulus. Planets like Mercury, Mars, and Venus are visible as well.
- Solar eclipse glasses can be removed at this time.
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Totality:
- During totality, there will be no sunlight because the moon will be blocking the sun’s rays.
- Depending upon the area you are standing, there will be different times of darkness. For example, if you’re in the middle of the path of totality, you might get 2 ½ minutes of darkness. However, if you’re on the outer edge, you may only get 20 seconds or less.
- The umbra of this particular solar eclipse is 65 miles wide. Some umbrae can be more than twice the size, even 167 miles wide.
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Contact 3:
- C3 is when totality ends. The same natural phenomenon occur as in C1, just in reverse order. First comes Baily’s Beads, then the Diamond Ring, and finally Shadow Bands, all in a matter of seconds. Animals settle, sunlight returns, and temperatures warm up.
- It is important to have eclipse glasses on before observing the sun again. Keep solar glasses on to protect your eyes.
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Contact 4:
- C4 is the end of the eclipse, where sun and moon stop overlapping and are visible separately again.
Rock Springs:
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Here are some helpful websites and apps available to viewing the Eclipse, with contact times for where YOU are at.
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- See EXACT Eclipse time and info in Rock Springs HERE.
- Solar Eclipse Timer available in the App Store.
- Eclipseamerica.com will give you the exact times of totality based on your zip code.
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