For the second time in the 21st century, the United States will experience a total solar eclipse spanning from coast to coast on Monday, April 8. Although Californians will unfortunately only be able to see a partial eclipse from their home state, libraries will be hosting solar eclipse viewings to residents, including the Sylmar Library.
Hinode is a joint endeavor by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the European Space Agency, the United Kingdom Space Agency and NASA.
The library will hold its viewing in front of the entrance around 10 a.m., a few minutes before the solar eclipse is scheduled to begin in the San Fernando Valley. The eclipse will start to become more noticeable around 10:40 a.m., reach its peak around 11:12 a.m. and conclude by 12:22 p.m. Around half of the sun will be visibly covered by the moon, which will create a crescent shape.
“It’s exciting to observe our universe firsthand, where we can go outside and look and see … our place in the universe through an event that we can all go and participate in,” said Dana Eklund, young adult librarian at the Sylmar Library. “For people who can’t travel to the path of totality, it’s a great opportunity that they can come up here to the library.”
Other eclipse viewing locations around Los Angeles include the California Science Center, Pasadena City College and Cal State LA, but those looking to stay in the valley can go to Pierce College or the Studio City Library.
Guests who come to the Sylmar Library will have the option of viewing the eclipse through a telescope equipped with a safe glass cover if they don’t have eclipse glasses. Staring at an eclipse without the proper eyewear, even with sunglasses, can cause permanent eye damage. Residents should also be wary of counterfeit glasses, as they will damage your eyes instead.
Fortunately, local libraries will be offering free eclipse glasses up until next Monday. Eklund said that the Sylmar Library currently has approximately 200 glasses, but their supply goes fast. Some will be saved for the day of the event, but they will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Eklund expects a couple hundred people to be in attendance based on prior eclipse viewing events. He did note, however, that if cloudy weather blocks the eclipse, then the event will likely be moved indoors where guests can watch a NASA live stream.
A solar eclipse occurs when the sun, moon and Earth align. The moon passes between the two, casting a shadow that fully or partially blocks the sun. There are four different types of eclipses: partial, annular, total and hybrid.
A total solar eclipse is when the moon completely blocks the face of the sun, making the sky darken and appear as if it’s dawn or dusk to people in the center of the moon’s shadow. To those outside the shadow, depending on how far they are from it, the sun will either be partially or mostly covered – otherwise known as a partial eclipse.
An annular eclipse happens when the moon is at its farthest point from Earth and doesn’t completely block the sun, causing the moon to appear as a dark disk in front of a larger, brighter disk. A hybrid eclipse, the rarest type, is the combination of an annular and total eclipse; it starts as an annular, becomes a total eclipse and then reverts back to an annular.
Solar eclipses can occur more frequently than most people may realize – from two to five times a year. Total solar eclipses, for instance, take place around every 18 months; however, the average time that any particular place experiences such a phenomenon is only once every 375 years.
Furthermore – as the orbits of the Earth, sun and moon are not perfectly aligned – total solar eclipses are rare to see, and when they do happen, the path in which they can be seen in its entirety is usually about 100 miles wide.
The next coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the U.S. will be in 2045.