2012 Annular Solar Eclipse
This Extra Credit will be worth 2%
so it is a big one, but will require some planning and hours of
transportation on your part. This year, an annular solar eclipse will be
visible to us on May 20, 2012 in Northern California.
Since this is a very rare opportunity, (the last visible solar
eclipse in California was in Southern California in 2005, and this was only a
partial solar eclipse), I'd like to offer the opportunity and encourage you to
go see it. I will be trying to see it myself since I have yet to see a
solar eclipse with my own eyes (believe it or not).
Of course the success of this extra credit depends upon the weather. If
it looks like it will be raining or heavily overcast in the location you
plan to go to, you either go to a different location which will be clear
or if all areas are overcast, you cannot do the extra credit and you shouldn't
make the drive up. However if it looks like it will be partially sunny or
clear, it would be worth your while to see it! Be sure
to invite your family and friends so that they have the opportunity to see
it too.
The Details:
1. Reread Chapter 1: The Cycle of the Sky PowerPoints
on solar eclipses and focus in particular on the information about annular
eclipses and how to view eclipses safely.
2. Purchase eclipse glasses (85 cents each) to view the eclipse safely
from this website: http://www.rainbowsymphonystore.com/eclipseshades.html
Ordinary sunglasses will not work and can cause eye damage if you use
them to look at the Sun! Make sure that you order it way ahead of
time so that it arrives on time. If you cannot purchase it, I will try to
have a few available in my office. You can email me to ask if I have any
available and arrange to pick them up from me. If you have binoculars,
you may also want to purchase solar filters for your binoculars
(about $20.00 for a pair).
3. Visit this website to see the path of the eclipse and the time that it will
occur:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html
You will need to move the cursor and zoom in on the map to the
location where you would like to see the eclipse. The best locations to
see the eclipse (since it will last the longest there) is anywhere on the red
line. But if you don't want to travel that far, anywhere within the blue
line, the annular eclipse will be visible (but it will be a little shorter the
farther you go away from the red line). The difference is about 4 minutes
between the longest duration (~5 minutes) on the red line and
shortest durations (~ 1 minute) near the blue line.
4. Determine what time the eclipse will start and end. If you
click on the location, you will see the end and start time of the annular
eclipse. But the time shown there will be in Universal Time
(UT). To convert it to Pacific Daylight Time (which will be the time
system that we are in, subtract 7 hours from the UT time.
For example, in Shasta National forest (which is where I might go),
the start of the eclipse will be 1:25am UT. So subtracting 7 hours
from this gives you 6:25pm PDT.
5. Look for directions to the location on Mapquest
and estimate how long it will take to drive there. You might think
of getting there the day before and spending the night (good excuse
for a little vacation).
6. I would recommend to get to your observing
site a few hours early so that you are ready for the eclipse.
7. Once you are there, make sure you have your eclipse glasses
ready. DO NOT attempt to look at the Sun without wearing your
eclipse glasses as it could cause severe eye damage.
8. As the eclipse is happening, ask a person to take a picture of you
with the solar eclipse visible in the background. Time the
eclipse to see how long it lasted from beginning to end.
9. Take pictures of your surrounding area, other people, and of course
the eclipse itself.
10. After the experience, you should write a report about the
eclipse. In your report:
The deadline this activity is Tuesday,
May 22nd for the T Thurs class and Weds, May 23rd for the
MWF class.