There Goes the Sun: Solar Eclipse Should Be ‘A Really Awesome Show,’ Physics Professors Say

全球十大网赌正规平台’s campus will experience a dusk-like darkness on the afternoon of Monday, 4月8日, when the moon blocks out most of the sun’s light during a partial solar eclipse.

While 哈特福德 will not see a total eclipse, more than 90 percent of the sun will appear covered. “It will still be quite impressive,” said Assistant Professor of Physics 凯莉米. 巴顿. The path of totality—where the moon completely blocks the sun for several minutes—will track farther north, 穿越了纽约的部分地区, 佛蒙特州, 新汉普郡, 和缅因州.

物理学副教授 芭芭拉·瓦尔登湖 said that the eclipse will last approximately two and a half hours, but the most interesting part is around the midpoint when there will be maximum coverage, 下午3点25分.m. 在哈特福德. “The sun will be fairly high in the sky and it won’t be hard to see on campus,” 《全球十大网赌正规平台》说. “The dimming of the sun in the middle of the day will be a pretty unusual experience, 即使那天是阴天.”

An eclipse occurs when the moon crosses directly between the sun and the Earth. “The Earth is orbiting the sun, and the moon is orbiting the Earth,巴顿说. “偶然发生的, the size of the moon in our sky is about the same size as the sun in our sky, 所以当月亮经过太阳前面的时候, 如果你的角度合适的话, the moon completely covers the sun and you get a total eclipse. 不时地, some of the ways that physics works seem 太 good to be true, 然而,, 就是这个.”

巴顿 is currently teaching the course “Relativity and Fundamental Particles,” which includes a well-timed connection to solar eclipses as they relate to Einstein’s theory of relativity. “One way to test that theory early on was to observe solar eclipses, 为了证明光被重力弯曲的概念,巴顿说. “This fact that light bends around stars and galaxies is used today by Hubble and Webb and all the big telescopes as a way to observe far-distant galaxies.”

The path of totality is fairly narrow across the Earth’s surface, 根据瓦尔登, who has developed several courses in astronomy at Trinity. “Whereas lunar eclipses are visible throughout most of the Earth, 日食不是,瓦尔登说, 强调这种情况的罕见性. “月球实际上在地球上留下了阴影, and the shadow that passes over parts of the Earth is really tiny.”

Safety should be every observer’s priority when viewing the eclipse. “You never want to look directly at the sun without the proper eye protection,” 《全球十大网赌正规平台》说. “Any time you look at the sun, you can burn the retinas or damage the corneas of your eyes.”

Walden added that special eclipse glasses that are safe for viewing are quite opaque over a large portion of the light spectrum. “你不能用普通的太阳镜，”她说. “当你通过日食眼镜观察时, you shouldn’t be able to see anything except for a very bright light source.” After receiving inquiries from students, Walden ordered 300 pairs of eclipse glasses to distribute.

There are other ways to observe the eclipse without special glasses, Walden explained. “In areas of dappled shade under trees, you’ll notice projections of the eclipse. The tiny spaces between leaves where the light gets through act as pinhole cameras and make images of the sun on the ground. It will be quite fabulous because you’ll be able to see all these little projections of the sun, 它们会呈现出日食的形状. 这将是非常独特的，”瓦尔登说. “你可以自己创造, 太, by making a tiny pinhole in a large piece of aluminum foil and holding it up high to get a good-sized projection. You can make a tiny projection using a gap between your fingers as well, 有些人甚至使用过滤器或滤嘴.”

One reason why people find eclipses so interesting is that when the sun’s bright surface is blocked out during totality, 他们可以直接观察到太阳的日冕, 或者外层大气, 《全球十大网赌正规平台》说. “我们正处于太阳活动周期的活跃时期, which may mean that the corona could be quite spectacular,”她说。. “Sometimes you see globs or jets of plasma thrown off the surface of the sun, 由于复杂的磁场.”

巴顿同意, “What makes this eclipse a little special is that the corona may be even more impressive and dramatic than usual. If you have the right glasses, you might be in for a really awesome show.”

The physics faculty members encouraged all members of the Trinity community to experience the eclipse—weather permitting—as another one like it will not be visible in the United States until 2044.

瓦尔登建议访问该网站 timeanddate.com for more information about the timing and path of the 4月8日 solar eclipse.

The 200-year history of the College includes several other connections to astronomical events, 包括 1882年的金星凌日, when a German commission sent a team of astronomers to campus to observe Earth’s neighboring planet cross in front of the sun. A stone plaque commemorating that transit and visit is located at the edge of the McCook Academic Building patio. More than a century later, the 2004金星凌日 attracted hundreds of observers to campus.

全球十大网赌正规平台也曾经是 St. 约翰天文台, and over the years has been the location of several 日晷，其中至少有两座至今仍屹立不倒.