Moraine State Park staff, volunteer shine light on upcoming eclipse
FRANKLIN TWP — On the afternoon of April 8, Donna Atwell will be the on deck of her Connonqunessing home watching the solar eclipse equipped with special glasses and scientific information meant for savoring the rare celestial event.
Atwell was one of about 30 people who learned about the science behind eclipses and how to safely watch one Saturday from state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources staff and a volunteer at the “Exploring Eclipses” program at Moraine State Park.
She described the program as fascinating.
The total solar eclipse will be most visible in a 167-mile wide swath of North America arching from California to the New England states called the “path of totality,” while other areas of the country will have only a partial view of heavenly show, said Army Sgt. William Rittersdorf, who works in Slippery Rock University’s ROTC program and volunteered for the eclipse program.
Natalie Simon, environmental education specialist at Moraine and McConnells Mills state parks, said people living anywhere can find the best time to view the eclipse using the timeanddate.com website by typing in the address of where they plan to watch from.
In Pennsylvania, the eclipse will be visible when the moon moves between the Earth and sun at 1,398 miles an hour from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The total eclipse phase will be visible from about 3:15 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. The eclipse will be visible for a maximum of three minutes and 41 seconds from anywhere in the state, according to the DCNR.
NASA has named Presque Isle State Park in Erie County as the best viewing location in Pennsylvania, Simon said.
Presque Isle and Erie Bluffs state parks in Erie County and Pymatuning and Maurice K. Goddard state parks in Crawford County lie within the 100% totality viewing area
Totality is the phase of the eclipse in which the moon completely blocks the view of the surface of the sun, according to the video played at the beginning of the program. The corona, which is the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere, and tendrils, which are blasts of solar material from the sun’s surface, are the only parts of the sun visible in 100% totality, Rittersdorf said.
At Moraine, totality will be between 98% and 99%, said Mike Shaffer, environmental education specialist at the parks.
Simon recommends viewing from either of the beach areas at Moraine because they provide the most parking and restroom facilities, but safety precautions must be exercised.
“Do not look at it with the naked eye,” Simon said.
Looking at the sun directly risks eye pain and damage, she said. Although the sun is blocked during an eclipse, enough solar radiation is emitted to burn the retina, even though no pain will be felt because of the absence of sunlight, she said.
Sunglasses do not provide enough eye protection to look at the eclipse. Welding masks with a #12 shade rating will work, but solar eclipse safety glasses and viewing cards are more practical tools. Those safety glasses must have an International Organization of Standardization, or ISO, certification of 12312-2 to be used safely, according to the DCNR.
Indirect viewing using a pin hole card or a pin hole viewer projection box is the safer than the glasses because dangerous radiation can get around the outside of the glasses, Rittersdorf said. A pin hole card allows a viewer to project an image of the eclipse through the hole on to a white paper or a sheet. Directions to make the boxes at home using household items such as cereal boxes are available on NASA’s website, he said.
Cameras, including mobile phone cameras, and telescopes can be used, but only with special filers attached to the objective lenses, Simon said.
People viewing in groups should wear clothes of different colors, she said. Eyes have difficulty adjusting to the sudden darkness and the colors will appear differently.
Shaffer recommended viewing from an area with wildlife, away from artificial light sources. He said the wind tends to gust, birds stop chirping and flowers will open or close as a result of the sudden disappearance of the sun. At farms, cows sometimes head to the barn and chickens got to roost, he said.
“I will try all the options,” Atwell said. “I think it’s fascinating.”
More than 100,000 people are expected to view the eclipse from Pymatuning and Presque Isle state parks, he said.
“I wouldn’t go there,” Shaffer said.
Simon predicted heavy traffic on I-79 following the sky show.
Viewers should being extra clothing because the temperature can drop during the eclipse, she said.
There are different types of eclipses. Two to five solar eclipses occur every year somewhere in the world and a total solar eclipse happens about every 18 months somewhere on the planet, according to the DCNR.
However, all three program presenters urged people to watch the April 8 event because the next total solar eclipse in North America won’t happen until Aug. 23, 2044.
