On Monday, April 8, Marblehead will have the opportunity to witness a rare celestial event: a partial solar eclipse. While the town won’t experience the complete darkness of a total eclipse, the moon will cover a significant portion of the sun, offering a dramatic spectacle in the sky.
Dr. Eric Reines, an amateur astronomer, has been eagerly anticipating this event.
“Two years ago, I made reservations at an inn up in Vermont, near the Canadian border,” Reines said, explaining that the path of totality — where the moon completely covers the sun — will pass through northern New England. “Burlington, Vermont, has totality. If it’s good, it will be spectacular.”
James Keating, another Marblehead resident and former physics teacher, said some people were paying $3,395 a night in Vermont. He emphasized the rarity of solar eclipses.
“Eclipses only happen at certain times,” he explained. “The moon’s orbit sometimes is five degrees above or below the plane of the earth and sun. It has to be within 17 degrees of what we call a node for an eclipse to occur.”
In Marblehead, the partial eclipse will begin at 2:16 p.m., with the moon covering 92.838% of the sun’s surface at its peak around 3:30 p.m. While the sky will darken noticeably, Keating cautioned against looking directly at the eclipse without proper eye protection.
“Even when the earth is blocking out the sun, it still can hurt your eyes and cause great harm,” he said. “You should always wear special glasses when looking at eclipses.”
For those without eclipse glasses, Reines suggested alternative viewing methods.
“The principle of the pinhole camera works well,” he said. “If you get a colander from your kitchen and hold it out to the sun, you’ll see a lot of little crescents on the ground, which is each of the holes acting like a pinhole camera, transmitting an image of the sun.”
Reines and Keating also noted that the leaves on trees can create a similar effect, with the gaps between leaves acting as natural pinhole cameras, projecting crescents onto the ground. They also emphasized the sense of camaraderie and wonder that eclipses can inspire.
“I remember in college when we had a partial eclipse go through campus, there was such a spirit of optimism and happiness,” Reines said. “We were all united in this natural phenomenon.”
Keating shared his experience viewing the 2017 total eclipse in North Carolina.
“I have pictures of the eclipse and the ground around where I saw it,” he said. “I was on top of a mountain, and it was just spectacular.”
Keating and Reines said this month’s eclipse is more than just a rare, unifying and beautiful event.
“Eclipses have held significant cultural and scientific importance throughout history,” Keating noted. “They serve as a reminder of the wonders of the universe and our ongoing quest to understand it.”
For those interested in safely observing the partial eclipse, NASA provides a straightforward guide on making a pinhole camera, accessible here: tinyurl.com/3h8tucwc.
