This afternoon, October 23, almost everyone in the US, Canada, Mexico, and the 23 people living on the other side of the Bering Strait in Russia, will get to enjoy a partial solar eclipse. If you're on the west side of Canada or the north-west of the US, up to 90% of the Sun will be covered by the Moon -- elsewhere, you should see the Moon take a small'ish bite out of the Sun (kind of like the Apple logo). Unlike a lunar eclipse, be warned that you really shouldn't look directly at a solar eclipse, because it can permanently burn your retinas.
Today's solar eclipse will begin over north-eastern Siberia, but it should be visible in Alaska by around midday local time. If you're in Alaska, Vancouver, Seattle, or anywhere up in that north/north-west region of North America, the solar eclipse will hit its maximum at around 1:30pm local time (PST). You should still get a decent solar eclipse (~90% coverage) as far east as Chicago, or as far south as San Francisco.
Solar eclipse map for October 23. If you're in the dark orange area, you should see a good solar eclipse; in the lighter shaded area, you might get a small The UTC timings are as follows: The eclipse starts at 7:30pm UTC, hits the maximum at 9:45pm UTC, and ends at around 11:52pm UTC. Generally, the farther you are from Canada's Nunavut Territory (i.e. the huge icy tracts in north-north Canada), the weaker the eclipse will be. If you're on the eastern edge of the solar eclipse, you may get the eclipse during sunset, which would make for a rather pretty photo.
Don't look directly at the Sun
Unlike the bevy of delicious lunar eclipses -- and even blood moon lunar eclipses -- that we've had this year, you really shouldn't look directly at a solar eclipse. As you probably know, looking directly at the Sun is pretty painful, and you usually look away after a fraction of a second. You might think that the Sun is somehow darker or less dangerous during a solar eclipse, but it's still more than capable of permanently burning your retinas.
The same thing goes for telescopes or binoculars or the rangefinder on your camera: Don't look directly at the Sun during a solar eclipse. (But yes, if you do want to take photos, your digital camera should be fine to take quick snaps of the Sun. You'll probably need a telescopic lens in the 200mm+ range if you want to get some decent shots.)
There are special solar eclipse viewing goggles, but you probably don't have time to find a pair before today's solar eclipse begins
So, how should I watch a solar eclipse?
If you don't want sunspots in your vision forever -- or, if you're unlucky, permanent blindness -- you have to observe a solar eclipse indirectly, or with some serious eye protection. If you have access to some welding glasses (with a shade level of 14 or above), you can use those. You can use a telescope or binoculars to project the solar eclipse onto a screen of some kind (a piece of white paper is fine). The pinhole projection method is probably easiest -- you poke a hole in some paper or cardboard, and then hold the punctured paper over a screen of some kind -- but the projected image will be very small. In some cases, you can buy "eclipse glasses" -- glasses specifically designed for viewing an eclipse -- but you probably don't have time to find a pair before this afternoon's excitement kicks off. Normal sunglasses will not protect your eyes.
Read: Was the "blood moon" lunar eclipse the beginning of the end of the world?
One of the better, alternative ways to look at a solar eclipse: Mylar! Image credit> If you're a digital photographer with a neutral density #5 (ND5) solar filter or higher, you can watch the solar eclipse in "live view" on your DSLR's screen. If you happen to have a mylar sheet -- that silver stuff that you might use after a marathon or while suffering from a bout of hypothermia -- you can fold that over and look at the Sun through that.
In short, it's pretty hard to look at a solar eclipse. In reality, if you just steal a quick look at the Sun during the solar eclipse, you'll probably be just fine. If you want to watch the Moon slowly slide in front of the Sun, though, you really should use one of the methods listed above.
The best method, if you don't have a DSLR with ND5 filter, is to use or borrow a pair of binoculars and focus the image onto a sheet of paper. Or, if you're feeling really lazy, just watch the solar eclipse on TV or the live stream from the Slooh observatory (embedded below).
Good luck -- and I hope you get to see the solar eclipse!
Now read: The Orionids: How to photograph a meteor shower Featured image credit: Joe Orman(Opens in a new window)
