Next Monday, April 8, will be a dark day in Albany and Clinton County, at least for a couple of hours.
It’s not an anniversary of a terrible event, but rather a near total solar eclipse that will be visible across a wide path of North America.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s path crosses between the earth and sun, blocking a portion of the view of the sun.
Most often, a solar eclipse is a partial eclipse, with only a small portion of the view of the sun being blocked.
In the case of the eclipse coming up on Monday, it will be a total solar eclipse across a path of about 120 miles wide that will move from Mexico, across Texas and in a northeast direction to Maine.
Paducah, Kentucky, in the far western portion of the state, is one of the communities where viewers can experience the total eclipse with 100 percent of the sun’s view being blocked by the moon.
In Albany and Clinton County, the degree of totality for the eclipse won’’t be as spectacular as in areas where 100 percent totality will be experienced, but the view here should still be worth taking in, with necessary precautions.
Beginning at 12:47 p.m. here, the moon will begin crossing paths with the sun, and at 3:23 p.m., the eclipse will be ending.
The peak magnitude for next week’s eclipse will be at 2:06 p.m., when about 94 percent of the view of the sun will be blocked by the moon’s crossing path.
Monday’s event will be significant enough here that Clinton County schools will be dismissing early that day.
In a letter from Superintendent Wayne Ackerman last week to parents and guardians of Clinton County students, and released on the school system’s social media outlets, Ackerman noted that the peak of the solar eclipse would occur at about the same time that students were normally being released and headed home on buses.
“By dismissing early, students will have the opportunity to be home to view the partial eclipse,” Ackerman said in the letter explaining the decision for the early release of students. “Although this eclipse will not be a full eclipse, it is important for our students to safely view this natural phenomenon, which is why our schools will be providing solar glasses to all students.”
The superintendent continued by stressing the importance of using eye protection while viewing the eclipse, noting that viewing the eclipse, or even looking directly at the sun at any time, would cause serious damage to the eyes, including vision loss and permanent damage to the retina.
Likewise, the Clinton County News reminds its readers to avoid looking directly at the sun during next Monday’s solar eclipse without proper eye protection.
Several websites are available with additional information about next Monday’s solar eclipse event, including:
eclipse2024.org
and
nasa.gov/eclipses