Decatur students join others nationwide to view eclipse

Mike Eckels (left) steadied his telescope while students captured a rare glimpse of a 90 percent solar eclipse near the front entrance at Decatur High School in Decatur Aug.21
Mike Eckels (left) steadied his telescope while students captured a rare glimpse of a 90 percent solar eclipse near the front entrance at Decatur High School in Decatur Aug.21

— As skies began turning a darker shade of blue, students and teachers at Decatur High School donned their special glasses ready to view one of the most interesting phenomena in the astronomical world, a solar eclipse.

A solar eclipse occurs somewhere on the globe at least twice each year. The United States experiences an eclipse event every seven years.

A total eclipse occurs when the moon's orbit crosses between the sun and the earth, casting a shadow in a narrow band across the globe. The size of the moon and the sun perfectly match, causing the total eclipse of the sun. But because the moon continues to move away from the earth at a rate of 1.50 inches each year (BBC.com), total eclipses are expected to become rare after approximately 1,000 years.

The Aug. 21 event was the first time the United States has experienced a total eclipse in 99 years. The solar eclipse of June 8, 1918, was the last time that a total eclipse passed over the United States from coast to coast. That event started in Washington State and extended to southern Florida. During that eclipse, Arkansas was on the northern end of the 90 percent coverage zone.

Those within a band which extended across the continental United States from Portland, Ore., through Kansas City, Mo., and to Charlotte, S.C., witnessed the Aug. 21 total eclipse, with the rest of the country and parts of Canada and Mexico able to view a partial eclipse. The students in Decatur and much of Arkansas were able to witness a 90 percent solar eclipse.

Students gathered in front of the main entrance to Decatur High School around 11:30 a.m. to catch their first glimpse of the moon crossing in front of the sun. By 1:15, the entire high school population was out to watch as the eclipse reached its peak.

But the Decatur High students had an added treat when they were able to view the eclipse through a 60mm-900mm Unitron refractor telescope equipped with a sun viewing plate, brought to the school by Mike Eckels.

The viewing plate was attached by a brass rod to the telescope and extends past the lens and focus housing of the instrument. At the end of the rod, two plates are put into place and locked down by bolts. One plate, with a 2-inch hole in the center, slides over the lens housing to block the sun. The second plate, painted white, is attached to the end and is the platform used to view solar activities.

The image of the sun refracts through the telescope and onto the viewing plate. This setup allowed students to study both the sun and the moon in closer detail. They were able to see two distinctive regions of the sun that had sun spots, cooler areas of the sun caused by a temporary conversion interruption in the sun's photosphere caused by a flux in the magnetic field.

Also visible to the young viewers were the moon's crater rims and mountain ranges backlit by the sun. On one corner of the moon, the terminator (the line between night and day) was visible as a thin yellow-orange band of light.

The next total eclipse in North America will take place April 8, 2024.

More information on solar and lunar eclipses is available at NASA. gov.

General News on 08/30/2017