The annular eclipse is set to happen on Saturday, Oct. 14. An annular eclipse is when the moon orbits farther from the Earth and partially covers the sun. It leaves only a ring of the sun visible.
The Austin area won’t be aligned in the right way to see the full annular solar eclipse, it will just be partial. Traveling west of San Antonio will put people in direct view of the sun/moon and allow for the full effect of the eclipse.
Viewing the solar eclipse head-on, even if not in view of the full annular eclipse, is not safe. Staring directly into the sun can cause damage to the retinas in people’s eyes. Mark Romano shared a few tips through an infographic.
“Use a pasta strainer– the small holes act like a pinhole projector. Get it at just the right distance from the ground and you’ll see several images of the sun. Get your hands on some solar glasses or card filters. This is the most convenient and cheap way to view an eclipse… If you have a telescope, you can use a solar filter on the front end of your telescope to safely view the sun. Use extreme caution when viewing the sun through a telescope.”
Romano is happy to answer any questions students may have about the annular solar eclipse happening on Oct. 14. For more information, his room number is F102 and his email address is [email protected].
