Community Corner

View Solar Eclipse Online Sunday

Rare 'ring of fire' can be watched -- safely -- via a telescope on Mount Fuji Sunday evening.

A rare solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, will occur on Sunday evening, May 20. It will be the first such event visible in the U.S. since 1994. More than 90 percent of the sun could be blocked, according to NASA and media reports.

In the U.S., it will only be visible to people in the West and perhaps as far east as Texas. Viewing is risky, of course, and people there are being advised to wear special viewing glasses.

However, thanks to the online global village that we live in, the "ring of fire" will be streamed online. Panasonic has set up an online telescope on Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak.

Find out what's happening in Cummingwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Also, the Slooh space camera will be streaming the eclipse online via telescopes.

The entire show should last about two hours with the "ring of fire" happening in the U.S. around 9:30 p.m. Eastern time and lasting up to 4 1/2 minutes in some locations, according to media reports quoting NASA.

Find out what's happening in Cummingwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to the Huffington Post, just about every national park in the West is hosting some type of viewing party or astronomy fest Sunday to mark the occasion. Of course, special viewing glasses are advised.

"This will cause less change in the daylight than you might think," said Alan MacRobert, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine. "Moderately thin clouds would dim the sunlight more. And if you're where the eclipse is only partial, the dimming will be less."


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