We will see something
similar to this at maximum
coverage around
2:40 this afternoon
(NASA image)
MID-HUDSON – The eclipse of the sun will be visible across the United States between about 12 and 4 this afternoon. A retired science teacher advises to be very careful when looking up at it. The sun’s rays could blind you or at least do serious damage in just a few seconds.
Christopher Eachus of New Windsor, a former physics teacher at Newburgh Free Academy, said the sun’s rays are no different than the rest of the time, but the damage can be done because of the length of time a person may stare as the moon passes between Earth and sun.
“People are interested in this eclipse; they have feelings about the eclipse and we know that it lasts for almost three minutes; I believe it’s two minutes and 48 seconds,” Eachus said. “So people might be inclined to stare at the sun for longer periods of time than they are used to. The blindness factor may not immediately kick in, but it could some time later; each person is different.”
On average, two to five solar eclipses occur each year, visible somewhere on earth.
In this instance, NASA said the moon will cover the sun creating a 70-mile-wide shadow of totality that will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. It’s the first coast-to-coat total eclipse in 99 years.
Weather permitting, people in the Hudson Valley will see about 75 percent of the sun covered.
Another total eclipse, visible in the eastern United States, will happen in just seven years, in 2024. The path of totality for that one will touch western New York State.
