The Catskills are one of the best places to watch celestial events. The lack of light and air pollution make it easy to see stars, planets, and even galaxies and meteor showers from the comfort of your backyard.
The hard part is when location-specific things occur – like eclipses. It seems like they’re always over the ocean or Antarctica, and we never get to see anything. Luckily, there’s one coming up on Thursday morning!
The “Ring of Fire” Annular Solar Eclipse
This eclipse is called an annular eclipse rather than a total eclipse, because the moon is farther away and will not totally block out the sun like it did for some in 2017. For viewers in the center of its path, the sun will look like a ring with the moon in the middle, and light will still be visible around the edges.
While only our northern neighbors in Canada will get to see the full effect, we’ll see a chunk out of the sun as the moon passes by. It won’t look like a ring, but it’ll still make for a pretty cool sunrise.
When to Look Up
The Ring of Fire eclipse will be visible for around an hour on Thursday, June 10. It begins around 4:40 a.m. and lasts until about 6:33 a.m. Of course, the sun won’t rise for us until about 5:20, so we won’t see anything at all until then. The peak of the eclipse, when the sun will be as covered as it’s going to get, should be around 5:35, so plan to be out right at dawn if you want to catch the best of it.
Those are the times listed for Prattsville, but to get exact times for your location, use this website.
Stay Safe
Like with any eclipse or other sun-related event, always wear eye protection. You can safely look at an eclipse by following these directions. If you can find a pair of safe, NASA-approved solar eclipse glasses, use them. Otherwise, the link describes an interesting (although complicated) way to enjoy the show without burning out your retinas.
Enjoy the eclipse if you get to see it! In the meantime, we’ll hope for clear skies Thursday morning.
Leave a Reply