Solar

Eclipse

Workbook August 2017

What is a Solar Eclipse?

What is a solar eclipse? Simply put, a solar eclipse is the lineup of the

Sun, Moon, and Earth. The Moon, wedged in the middle, will cast a

shadow on Earth. If you were in the umbra, you would get to witness a

total eclipse. Louisiana is in the penumbra, so we’ll get to see a partial

eclipse. At its maximum, about 80% of the sun will be covered by the

moon’s shadow.

The eclipse will take place on August 21, 2017. You can begin to see a

partial eclipse starting at approximately 11:55 AM. The eclipse will

reach its maximum point at approximately 1:30 PM.

You need to protect your eyes during the eclipse, so don’t lose your

eclipse glasses! Pinhole projectors also allow you to view the eclipse

safely. If you want, you can even make your own pinhole projector.

Directions are on page 6.

Why is this such a big deal?

The upcoming solar eclipse is known as The Great American Eclipse

because the path touches ONLY mainland United States soil! That may

not sound like much, but it turns out to be an amazingly rare event! You

see, the paths of totality for most eclipses meander over oceans and

islands and continents. For an eclipse path to touch only one country and

no other, is reasonably rare. Even the great eclipse of 1918, which swept

across the U.S. from west to east as this one will, did not fit the bill - it

hit the Bahamas as well!

It is an astounding fact that you have to go all the way back to the total

solar eclipse of June 13, 1257 in order to find another eclipse which

touched only American soil! (And of course, America wasn't a country at

that time!)

When will the next eclipse like this happen? One that touches only

American soil? Not until January 25, 2316!

NASA invites you to take a moment during the

eclipse to capture a short video (less than 1

min) of yourself, or you with others, doing an

original dance inspired by the eclipse. As a

reminder, avoid any kind of copyrighted music

or materials in the background that would

prevent them from posting your video. Share

your video on Instagram, Facebook, and

Twitter by using #EclipseDance. Don’t forget

to include a brief description with your

uploaded image.

Make a

working

Solar eclipse

model

Make Your Own Pinhole Projector

(so you can view the eclipse safely)

The pinhole projection system can easily be constructed using a shoebox

(reference figures 1 and 2). Choose the largest shoebox you can find.

1. Tape the top onto the box.

2. In one end of the box cut 2 to 3 inches off the top.

3. Inside the box on this end tape a piece of white paper. The white paper

will be the viewing area where the projected image of the Sun will be

visible for safe observation. White paper is used to increase the

contrast of the image.

4. The most important step of this system is to cut a small hole in the

opposite end of the shoebox.

5. Over this hole tape a piece of aluminum foil. Make a pinhole in the foil

directly over the hole that was cut out of the shoebox. The foil is used

because a pinhole in it will produce a nice round hole (a pinhole in the

cardboard box would be rough and irregular).

Your pinhole projection viewing device is now complete. When it comes

time to observe the eclipse, stand with your back to the Sun, place the

shoebox on your shoulder with the pinhole end (E) facing the Sun, and

watch the viewing area on the white paper inside the shoebox (C).

Reference figure 3. There you will see a bright projected image of the

Sun. The image will be small, about 1/4 inch in diameter, but it will be

easy to see.

If you desire a larger image, a long-stem rose box could be substituted

instead, but the image will only be slightly larger. For example, to

produce a 1 inch in diameter image you would need a box about 9 feet

long (a little difficult to hold on your shoulder). Regardless of the size of

the image, this method is safe because it forces the observer to look in a

direction away from the Sun. There is less temptation to continually

glance upward at the Sun directly, as other methods tend to do. Viewing

the eclipse this way is like watching a movie screen or a slide show.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

By: Dave Huestis, www.theskyscrapers.org

Illustrations by: Ruth Flanagan-Gucfa

Eat what you see!

Check it out!

W h a t i s a n e c l i p s e ?

B y M i c h a e l P o r t m a n

X 5 2 3 . 9 9 P O R

S o l a r a n d l u n a r e c l i p s e s

b y R u t h O w e n

X 5 2 3 . 3 8 O W E

S u n a n d m o o n

b y R o s a l i n d M i s t

X 5 2 3 . 7 M I S

T h e d a y m y d o g s b e c a m e g u y s

b y M e r r i l l M a r k o e

X F M A R

TUESDAY,

AUGUST 15

6:30 PM

GONZALES

Explore your world with the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society. Learn about the upcoming solar eclipse from experts, and see a demonstration of how and why eclipses happen. Learn About the Solar Eclipse is designed for children in grades K-6, but everyone is welcome, including both children

and adults.

S q u i b s E a r t h ,

m o o n ,

s u n , & b e y o n d

V 5 2 3 . 2 S Q U

C u r i o u s G e o r g e

d i s c o v e r s s p a c e

b y M o n i c a P e r e z

X F P E R

S p a c e s o n g

r o c k e t r i d e

b y S u n n y

S c r i b e n s

X F S C R

A r o u n d t h e

m o o n 1 , 2 , 3

b y

T r a c e y E . D i l s

X F D I L

Learning new things is always fun.

If you want to explore the solar system,

check out these exciting resources!

www.myAPL.org—We have tons of books on outer space. Did you

know that we also have online material? On our home page, click on

Scienceflix. You can learn all about the solar system. You can read

about it, watch videos, and even explore careers related to space.

Did you know that you can make $54.00 an hour if you are a

planetary scientist?? That’s over $110,000 a year!

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids—NASA has a great website designed

just for you! It includes information about our solar system, games, and

even Do It Yourself projects.

http://pbskids.org/games/science/ - PBS has all sorts of fun games related

to space like Jet’s Planet Pinball, Socks in Space, Chickens in Space, Sean’s

Rescue Quest, Super Bouncy Blast Off, and Gravity-A-Boing-Boing.