The Nation Newspaper

Tag: solar eclipse

  • Millions of Americans await awe-inspiring total solar eclipse

    Millions of Americans await awe-inspiring total solar eclipse

    Millions of Americans armed with protective-glasses are taking-positions along a slender-ribbon of land cutting diagonally across the United States to marvel at the first-total-solar-eclipse to unfold from coast to coast in nearly a century.

    After weeks of anticipation, the sight of the moon’s shadow passing directly in front of the sun, blotting out all but the halo-like-solar-corona, will draw one of the largest audiences in human history, experts say.

    When those watching via social and broadcast media are included, the spectacle will likely smash records.

    Some 12 million people live in the 70-mile-wide (113-km-wide), 2,500-mile-long (4,000-km-long) zone where the total eclipse will appear

    on Monday.

    Millions of others have traveled to spots along the route to bask in its full glory.

    Murphy, North Carolina, in the Smoky Mountains about two hours north of Atlanta, is among hundreds of small towns that are preparing for a huge influx of visitors.

    “The weather forecast for Monday is beautiful, probably not a cloud in the sky all day,” said Dave Vanderlaan, 61, a retired landscaper.

    “We’re busy, but tomorrow anybody in Atlanta who says they want to see total, they’re going to come up to this area, so it could be crazy.”

    The phenomenon will first appear at 10:15 a.m. PDT (1715 GMT) near Depoe Bay, Oregon.

    Some 94 minutes later, at 2:49 p.m. EDT (1849 GMT), totality will take its final bow near Charleston, South Carolina.

    The last time such a spectacle unfolded from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast was in 1918.

    The last total eclipse seen anywhere in the United States took place in 1979.

    In Depoe Bay, a town of about 1,500 people, clear skies on Sunday raised hopes that the corona would be visible and not obscured by coastal haze or cloud.

    For millions of others who can’t get to points of clear view, a partial eclipse of the sun will appear throughout North America if there is no local cloud

    cover.

    Perhaps never before have so many people had the opportunity to see a total eclipse, said Michael Zeiler, a self-described “eclipse chaser” who

    on Monday will notch his ninth time seeing “totality.”

    Weeks of publicity have fanned excitement, he said, and may have persuaded many families to make last-minute plans for a road trip to

    the zone.

    Zeiler, who runs Great AmericanEclipse.com, a website devoted to the event, estimates that up to 7.4 million people will travel to the zone to observe the total eclipse, which takes place in the peak vacation month of August.

    In South Carolina, Charleston County’s more than 16,000 hotel rooms are booked, tourism officials say. Police expect up to 100,000 visitors to the area on Monday.

    The overall display as seen at each point along the eclipse path, including the partial phases before and after totality, lasts nearly three hours.

  • Solar eclipse to occur on Sunday – NASRDA

    The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) said on Thursday that there would be a partial Solar eclipse across the country on Sunday.

    Dr Felix Ale, Head of Media and Corporate Communications, made the disclosure in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    “A partial solar eclipse will be visible all over the country with different degree of totality to occur on Sunday, Feb. 26,’’ he said.

    According to Ale, the highest degree of obscurity in the country during the natural occurrence will be observed in the southern part of Nigeria, particularly Port Harcourt, Uyo and Calabar.

    He said these areas were expected to have about 33 per cent obscurity, while the lowest degree obscurity would be about nine per cent in the northern part of Nigeria, particularly in Kebbi.

    Ale noted that in the South-West, the level of obscurity would be 23 per cent at about 5.42 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.

    He, however, said it would be recording 28 to 30 per cent between 4.45 p.m. and 6.33 p.m. in the South-East.

    “Meanwhile, the level of obscurity in Abuja, the Federal Capital City (FCT) will be 20 per cent between 4.54 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.,” he said.

    He stressed that the solar eclipse would be observed across the nation, thereby making each part of the country a great site for viewing the eclipse at different degree of obscurity.

    According to him, the solar disc will be covered by the moon as seen from the earth and the eclipse will be visible as much as there is clear sky without rain or cloud.

    He, however, said there was no cause for alarm or reason to panic as the solar eclipse was a natural occurrence and should be seen as part of the beauties of nature

  • Africans watch solar eclipse

    Africans watch solar eclipse

    Stargazers in south, west and central Africa were treated to a spectacular solar eclipse yesterday with the Moon moving across the Sun to form a “ring of fire”.

    At the eclipse’s peak, all that was visible was a ring of light encircling the black Moon — but the phenomenon was only fully visible to people in a narrow, 100-kilometre (62-mile) band stretching across central Africa, Madagascar and Reunion.

    In Lagos, it was cloudy as if a downpour was imminent. People brought out telephones to photograph the phenomenon.

    Anyone north, south, east or west of the band experienced only a partial eclipse, or none at all.

    The phenomenon, known as an annular solar eclipse, happens when there is a near-perfect alignment of the Earth, Moon and Sun.

    But unlike a total eclipse, when the Sun is blacked out, sometimes the Moon is too far from Earth, and its apparent diameter too small, for complete coverage.

    “I wanted to see it because even my daughters will be too old to watch the next one in 200 years,” joked Jeremy Grondin, who watched the event with his two young daughters in the south west of France’s Indian Ocean Reunion Islands.

    It was there that stargazers had the best view of the solar eclipse, described by Pascal Descamps of the Paris astronomical observatory as a “magical moment”.

    On the island, the moment lasted just 2 minutes 33 seconds and took place shortly after 1000 GMT.

    Spectators had to don special protective glasses to filter out the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet and infra-red rays.

    Viewers could also use a pinhole camera, a box with a hole on one side for light to pass through, projecting an inverted image of the eclipse on the opposite side.

    On the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte off the east coast of Africa, prayers were said in mosques calling for residents to be spared from harm.

  • FUTA plans safe solar eclipse viewing in Akure

    The Federal University of Technology, Akure(FUTA), under the University Centre for Space Research and Applications, is organising a safe viewing of the September 1 solar eclipse in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

    It will be carried out in conjunction with the Nigeria Chapter of Universe Awareness and Astronomers without Borders (UAAB).

    An annular eclipse occurs when the sun and moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the moon is smaller than that of the sun. Hence, the sun appears as a very bright ring or annulus surrounding the dark disk of the moon.

    The highest degree of obscurity in Nigeria during the annular eclipse would be in the Southern part.

    The eclipse is expected to occur in Akure between 7:15am to 9:55am local time [UTC+1.0] max 65 per cent at 8:28am.

    Solar eyeglasses will be provided for school students and other enthusiasts to ensure safety during the period, which is set to begin around 7am on Sunday, September 1, at the hilltop in FUTA.

    A statement by the Head, Media and Corporate Communications of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Felix Ale, warned that the eclipse is not a spiritual issue, but a natural occurrence that can be accurately predicted by science.

    Besides, the statement cautioned that that nobody should observe eclipse with naked eyes since it can lead to permanent damage to the eyes.

    The space agency appealed to the public not to panic or attach any mystical interpretation to the  event.

    The last time Nigeria experienced an eclipse was in 2013.