solar eclipse

Select A Telescope @ Rocky River Library

Jay Reynolds from the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association will share a variety of telescopes and explain what you may want to look for when purchasing one. Jay will host an interactive presentation with safety reminders about the upcoming Solar Eclipse (April 8th, 2024)

June 10’s sunrise solar eclipse in pictures

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Members of the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA) rose early June 10 to view, photograph, and promote the (locally) partial solar eclipse. Already in progress as Sun rose above the horizon, the annular eclipse or “ring of fire” could not be seen but decent coverage of the solar disk did result in some impressive views.

In addition to watching the eclipse members, led by special events director Jay Reynolds, hosted members of the public at Cleveland’s Edgewater Park. The view from Edgewater’s lakefront location included the rising partly-eclipsed Sun with the lakeshore and Cleveland’s skyline.

Other members took up station at Avon Lake, Bay Village, and even inland at a Medina County location. Here, in mixed order, is a sampling of member photographs:

Eclipse Sunrise by Jeff Lewis
Jeff Lewis, in Bay Village, captured this view of the eclipsed sun as it rose above the Lake Erie horizon.
Dave Nuti Eclipsed Sun and Cleveland skyline
Dave Nuti captured this view of the rising eclipsed Sun and the Cleveland, Ohio skyline as seen from Edgewater Park.
Jay Reynolds -- Early risers viewing sunrise and Cleveland Skyline
Jay Reynolds made this photograph of early risers viewing the eclipse from Edgewater Park with the “photo op” Cleveland sign in the foreground.
CAA member Nora Mishey, CAA’s Education Director, discusses the science of eclipses with members of the public at Edgewater Park in this photo by Anita Kazarian.
A horn of the eclipsed Sun become visible as it rises from the Lake Erie horizon. Viewed from Bay Village.
Eclipsed Sun rising through morning fog in rural Medina County. by James Guilford
James Guilford captured this view from far inland — rural Medina County — where ground fog created interesting lighting effects.
Joe Hamlin, in Avon Lake, produced this colorful capture of the eclipse over Lake Erie.
Photographing the eclipse from Edgewater Park, the photographer was photographed by Anita Kazarian.
Matt Franduto shot this photo of the cloud-obscured eclipse through his telescope.
Jeff Lewis, from Bay Village, shared this view of the rising eclipse as it clears some low clouds.
Eclipsed Sun rising through morning fog in rural Medina County. by James Guilford
Calling this the “cherry bowl”, James Guilford produced this image of the sunrise eclipse as seen through ground fog in rural Medina County.
Rising from a nest of clouds, the red eclipsed Sun was imaged by Timothy Campbell from Edgewater Park.
Chris Elder was in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, for the eclipse. Patchy clouds blocked the view at dawn, but they broke up about 20 minutes in revealing some of the best eclipse views available in the country.

June 10 brings a solar eclipse — be careful how you view it!

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Annular Eclipse of the Sun. Image Attribution: Smrgeog, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

An annular eclipse of the sun will take place June 10 and it will be underway at sunrise. Unfortunately, even with clear skies we will not see the “ring of fire” that is the namesake look of this type of eclipse. In fact, no place in the United States will see the complete circle, or annulus, of Sun around Moon. So don’t feel left out.

In our area, sunrise will be at 5:55 AM (EDT) with the eclipse already at its maximum for us. The eclipse ends at 6:35 AM as Moon completes its passage across Sun.

A total eclipse of the sun takes place when Earth’s Moon, at normal orbital distances, covers the solar disk completely and blocks all but the glowing corona from view. An annular eclipse takes place when Moon is at higher points in its orbit when it passes between Earth and Sun, too distant and small to form a perfect cover, allowing a brilliant ring of our star to shine.

What we may see at dawn and diminishing thereafter, is a partial solar eclipse — looking a bit like the chomping character from the classic PAC-MAN video game. Much of the solar disk will be visible but the curved edge of Moon will take a bite out of one side.

How can you watch the eclipse? With great care!

Partial Eclipse of the Sun, August 21, 2017 — this image rotated to resemble what viewers might see at dawn, June 10, 2021. Photo by James Guilford

How can you watch the eclipse? With great care! At no time during our partial solar eclipse will it be safe to watch the event without vision protection. If you have eclipse glasses from a recent solar eclipse, those should be just fine — just make sure there are no pinholes or other damage to the plastic film “lenses”! You can check for damage by holding the eclipse viewer at arm’s length and looking at a bright lightbulb. If you see any dots of light through the viewer film, throw those glasses out!

Do NOT look at the sun through sunglasses, even multiple sets of sunglasses, or photo negatives, Compact Discs, or anything other than certified eclipse viewing equipment! Pinhole and other projection techniques can be used safely since the viewer is looking at a projection and not the sun itself. Five Ways to View the Solar Eclipse

“The Sun can be viewed safely with the naked eye only during the few brief seconds or minutes of a total solar eclipse. Partial eclipses, annular eclipses, and the partial phases of total eclipses are never safe to watch without taking special precautions. Even when 99% of the Sun’s surface is obscured during the partial phases of a total eclipse, the remaining photospheric crescent is intensely bright and cannot be viewed safely without eye protection [Chou, 1981; Marsh, 1982]. Do not attempt to observe the partial or annular phases of any eclipse with the naked eye. Failure to use appropriate filtration may result in permanent eye damage or blindness!” — NASA: Eye Safety During Solar Eclipses

Don’t miss the July 2 total solar eclipse, online or via NASA TV

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Photo of August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. Credit: NASA/Gopalswamy
The corona, a region of the Sun only seen from Earth when the Moon blocks out the Sun’s bright face during total solar eclipses. The corona holds the answers to many of scientists’ outstanding questions about the Sun’s activity and processes. This photo was taken during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017. Credits: NASA/Gopalswamy

Be sure to be watching July 2 at 4:00 PM EDT as the total solar eclipse is presented live from Chile, via San Francisco’s Exploratorium. You will not be able to directly see the eclipse from the USA; the total solar eclipse will be visible from a narrow part of the South Pacific Ocean, Chile, and Argentina.

The Exploratorium will be bringing the total solar eclipse to you, no matter where you are. The have sent a team to Chile to broadcast from within the path of totality. Enjoy this full, unnarrated view of the eclipse from the telescopes at the National Science Foundation’s Cerro Tololo Observatory.

Live Telescope View – Not Narrated:
https://www.exploratorium.edu/video/total-solar-eclipse-live-july-2-2019

Live Coverage – Broadcast Style:
https://www.exploratorium.edu/video/total-solar-eclipse-2019-live-coverage

NASA has partnered with the Exploratorium to provide the coverage which it will livestream: three views via separate players on the agency’s website (all times EDT):

  • Live views from telescopes in Vicuna, Chile, without audio, from 3 to 6 PM
  • A one-hour program with live commentary in English, from 4 to 5 PM
  • A one-hour program with live commentary in Spanish, from 4 to 5 PM

NASA Television will also carry the English-language program on its public channel. Both programs will feature updates from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and Magnetospheric Multiscale missions.