Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library

Wed, 08/16/2017 - 8:30am

Yes, our eclipse glasses are the real deal!

With the eclipse just days away, more and more headlines are focusing on the event. But with the excitement come safety warnings, and the latest have been to be sure the eclipse glasses you’re using are actually safe for looking at the sun.

Ours definitely are. They were produced by American Paper Optics (www.3dglassesonline.com), and are approved by the American Astronomical Society. If you’ve purchased eclipse-viewing glasses elsewhere, you can find out whether they’re approved by AAS by heading over to eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters.

Even if your glasses are safe, it’s important to follow the instructions in the fine print: inspect each time before use; don’t use if damaged, torn, punctured, or separated from the frame in any way; do not use with other optical devices; limit to three minutes continuous use, intermittently for several hours; don’t use with diseased eyes or after eye surgery; do not walk around or drive with the glasses on.

This is important because even though the sun will be mostly covered up, that’s not nearly enough to keep your eyes safe.

My sister lives in Kansas City, Missouri and she’ll be just outside the path of totality; the moon will cover up to 99.9 percent of the sun in the KCMO metro region. (Want to find out how much of the eclipse your friends and family will see? Go to https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/interactive_map/index.html for an interactive map that shows “obscuration” for any town you click on.)

You’d think that with 99.9 percent of the sun covered, you’d be able to look at it without special glasses, but you can’t. The sun is just that bright.

The Kansas City Star actually ran an article warning people that watching the eclipse from the KCMO metro region is not going to be nearly the experience that watching it from within the path of totality will be.

Why is covering 99.9 percent of the sun so different from blocking it entirely? Understanding that starts with understanding that the sun is 400,000 times brighter than a full moon. If you cover 99.9 percent of the sun, it still leaves you with a little speck of sun that put out 0.1% of the sun’s brightness. And 0.1 percent of the sun’s brightness is still 400 times brighter than a full moon. (See kids, I told you math was important).

If the night sky were lit up with 400 full moons, you wouldn’t be able to see the stars, and the chickens wouldn’t roost. So none of this happens when the moon obscures 99.9 percent of the sun, either.

But at 100 percent coverage, the day becomes as dark as a night lit only by a single full moon. You can see the stars, and you can see the sun’s glowing atmosphere. You can even look at it with your bare eyes. People say it’s an incredible experience.

Here in the Boothbay region, about two-thirds of the sun’s brightness will be obscured by the moon, which will make it look something like a day with heavy cloud cover.

Unless of course it actually is a day with heavy cloud cover. Then we’ll see nothing.

Upcoming Events

 Artists of the Month: Hilary Bartlett and Cheryl Blaydon, on display in August in the upstairs Community Room.

Fair Weather Films: Friday, Aug. 18, 8 p.m., PBS documentary “Secrets of the Sun;” and Friday, Aug. 25:  “Sacred Cod.” Bring a blanket or lawn chair!

Hallowell Community Band Concerts: Thursdays, 7- 9 p.m., on our lawn.

Making Pinhole Projectors for Eclipse Viewing: Saturday, Aug. 19, noon – 1 p.m., upstairs Community Room.

Book Focus Group: Monday, Aug. 21, 4:30 p.m. Facilitator John O’Connell, jwoconnell@gmail.com

Story Hour: Fridays, 10:15 a.m. Hear a story, make a craft, and sing a song with friends!