This Monday, we in Cleveland will be about a 6-8 hour drive away from the narrow path of one of Nature’s most extraordinary sights, the total eclipse of the Sun by the Moon during daylight.

In this article we will talk about the wonders of a total solar eclipse, and also go over when our partial eclipse will happen on Monday, and most importantly, what precautions to take with your eyes and the eyes of your family, thanks to our friends at Western Reserve Eye Care, in particular Dr. Grant, who made the video below and Dr. Steigemeyer who made it available to us.

The Magic of the Solar Eclipse

The entire drama of the solar eclipse is all about shadows.  It is the shadow cast by the moon as the moon orbits around our Earth, when that orbit places it directly between us and our Sun.  By an incredible combination of size and shadow combinations, the size of the Sun, the size of the moon, the distance between the Sun and Moon, and Moon and Earch, combine, every so often, to create a glorious moment when the shadow of the Moon just blots out the Sun enough to block nearly all the light from the main disk of the Sun, without blocking the far fainter light of the corona (more on that soon).

How can that be?  The Sun is 400 times wider than the Moon.  The answer is that from Earth, the Sun is 400 times further away than the Moon, waa-lah, a perfect match.  From where we stand the circle of the Moon is an exact fit for the circle of the Sun.

This map shows why this is called the Great American Eclipse, it’s the first time the total eclipse has come to the US in 26 years, and one of the only to happen only in the US.

Take a look at the map here:

http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html?Lat=42.94034&Lng=-80.15625&Zoom=3&LC=1

Notice that there is a line or band stretching from Oregon to the Carolinas, it is only in this very narrow band that a total solar eclipse will occur.

But there is a broader band of shadow around that, and in that band will be the partial solar eclipse that Cleveland will experience this Monday.

Here is are the numbers for us.

Cleveland will experience a 79% eclipse, beginning at 1:06 PM

Peaking at  2:31 PM

Ending at    3:51 PM

IT IS INCREDIBLE IMPORTANT THAT NO ONE YOU CARE FOR LOOK AT THE SUN IN CLEVELAND BETWEEN 1 AND 4 PM!

The Safety Concern

I clearly remember as a child being sternly warned not to look at an eclipsing sun without eye protection.

But it never made any sense, after all I go about looking at all sorts of things in bright daylight, even looking at the bright sun on occasion, and nothing happened, so how could a partially darkened sun cause harm?

The answers are interesting, many thanks to Dr. Steigemeier for these facts:

1. The light of the sun is plenty powerful enough to burn a hole in anyone’s retina, at any time during daylight.   But it takes the focusing power of our lens to really help that light crisp a hole in our retina.
2. Now, it turns out the lens achieves its maximum focus on a very, very tiny dot in our retina called the fovea.  That’s the spot where our best vision, including all our color vision, occurs.  We see in large part by pointing our fovea at whatever we are looking at in any moment, and that spot is where the focus is most intense.  Think about a magnifying glass concentrating normal daylight sunlight enough to burn a hole in paper.
3. So, if I am looking across the street at High Noon, my fovea is not pointing at the sun, the sun’s brightest rays enter my eye and focus a bit on the retina, but not to any great degree, and so, no burn.
4. But, if I was able to turn my gaze directly into that High Noon sun and hold it there for a few long seconds, I would burn a hole in my retina.   It’s hard to do that, the light is so intense.
5. Now, during a partial eclipse, like the one this Monday, we will have a 79% drop in the amount of light coming from the Sun.  It will still be light out, but a bit darker, enough so one could comfortably turn our super-focusing fovea directly on the sun and hold our gaze long enough to burn a whole in our fovea, which would permanently impair our vision.
6. Also, during a partial eclipse,. like ours will be, our pupils widen enough to make matters so much worse.

SO THIS MONDAY BETWEEN 1 AND 4 PM, THE RULE IS SIMPLE:  DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN.

If you want to see the partial eclipse, get some eclipse shades or sunglasses, or build a pinhole projector, as Dr. Grant shows us how in the attachment.

But what about seeing a TOTAL Eclipse?

You can do that Monday but use the map above to find out where and when, the closes spots to us will be in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Or, you can wait about 6 and some years, for April 8,2024, when your homes, right here in Cleveland will be in total solar eclipse around 3:15 PM.

Here are some amazing things that happen only with a total solar eclipse:

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/6-weird-things-that-happen-during-an-eclipse/

1. The sky goes dark, really dark, stars come out.
2. So dark the temperature drops, crickets start chirping.
3. Just before totality, the moon’s valleys allow some rays to peek through creating the diamond ring look.
4. During totality, something that surrounds the sun all the time is visible, and only visible during the total eclipse.  It’s the corona, waves of gargantuan bursts of radiation that are 1 million degrees hot.  Keep in mind the surface of the blazing sun is 5000 degrees.  Seeing the corona is one of the more extraordinary sights.

BOTTOM LINES

1. Solar eclipses are astoundingly amazing.
2. Total solar eclipses are said to be some of the most extraordinary sights one can have.
3. This Monday, for the first time in 26 years, the US will have a band of total solar eclipse.
4. This Monday between 1 and 4PM Cleveland will be in a partial solar eclipse:  DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN THEN.
5. If you want to see the partial eclipse, buy some eclipse sunglasses or build a pinhole projector.
6. SAVE THE DATE:  April 8, 2024, 3:15PM  FOUR MINUTES OF TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE RIGHT OVER CLEVELAND.

To your health,

Dr. Arthur Lavin