BRANDT: How to watch upcoming eclipse

The likelihood of good weather ranges from 60-80% probability of good weather for the upcoming solar eclipse here. For us, as of Wednesday morning, the forecast calls for showers and cloud cover on Saturday the 14th. Obviously, this is not ideal weather for Sun-gazing safely.

One important feature of this upcoming eclipse is that it will be livestreamed, so you can watch the complete eclipse unfold in real time, as you’re hopefully watching the one outside, weather permitting on the internet. Here are four of the most reliable livestreams of this event:

From the Exploratorium.org, in San Francisco: https://www.youtube.com/@exploratorium

The eclipse stream will be top link on this page Oct 14, 2023.

2. From NASA.gov, Goddard Space Flight Center, MD: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nasa+channel

The eclipse stream will be top link on this page Oct 14, 2023.

3. From Griffith Observatory, in Los Angeles: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=griffith+observatory

The eclipse stream will be top link on this page Oct 14, 2023.

4. From Slooh.org: Ring of Fire Annular Eclipse – LIVE at Slooh

All these streamers will be in what’s called the “path of annularity,” meaning that they’ll be showing the entire eclipse, including the annular part, where the Sun shines around the moon like a golden ring. They will be in different locales, ranging from Oregon to Texas, so one of the four is a safew bet for a good view of the eclipse.

Since there was a “supermoon” two weeks ago, the Moon is located further from Earth than normal- “a minimoon?” As a result, the Moon’s disc doesn’t completely cover the Sun, as in a Total eclipse.

Image courtesy of JPL/NASA.

As you can see, an annular eclipse (the middle image) isn’t quite as spectacular as a Total eclipse (image on the right). What we’ll see from here in Robeson County will look a lot like the image on the left.

Here’s what Amy Sayle of the Morehead Planetarium’s Statewide Star Party advised on the eve of an event we did recently, about foul weather possibilities on the date of an astronomical event:

“Have you checked your forecast during the hours of your event? Remember that predicted timing for rain or clouds can shift as the date approaches. …Obviously, if you expect rain or lightning at an outdoor-only event, that’s a different matter.”

No matter how the weather turns out on the 14th, barring severe weather, the Robeson Planetarium will be hosting an eclipse viewing event on Saturday, October 14, from Noon-3 pm. We’ll be at the site of the temporary planetarium facility, located on the campus of Hargrave Complex, on 100 Hargrave St. in Lumberton. Telescopes, binoculars-all Sun-viewing safe, will be on hand for you to watch the eclipse unfold. We’ll also have some tables with fun hands-on activities that will be set up under the breezeway. In addition, we’ll be running a planetarium program, and live streaming of the eclipse will be happening on our big screen tv. This event is free, with ample parking in the Hargrave complex parking lot.

Finally, this event could be considered a “warm up” to the next partial eclipse here in NC: April 8th, 2024. On that day, more than 80% of the Sun will be covered by the Moon. If you’re a student or staff member of the Public Schools of Robeson County, you’ll be given a set of eclipse viewing glasses for these two eclipse events. Please use these for direct Solar viewing and save them for use again in April.

The expiration date for these glasses is in 2029, so “they’ll keep,” as my Nana used to say. The key is to store them safely. My suggestion: fold them up carefully and stick them in a sock. They should be safe to stick in your desk drawer, if properly wrapped, or somewhere you’ll need to fish them out from to see the April eclipse.

No matter what happens weather-wise, eclipses will happen anyway. Even if we’re clouded out, one of the remote viewing sites will have good weather that day, so you’ll be able to keep up with the eclipse on the internet.