Alaskan Eclipses

Within a few weeks during late 1977 both solar and lunar eclipses will be visible from Alaska. The lunar eclipse on Monday, September 26, will be followed by a solar eclipse on October 12.

During the lunar eclipse, the moon will be full and therefore directly opposite the sun from the earth. Note that lunar eclipses can only occur when the moon is full. The moon will enter the earth's lightest shadow region (the penumbra) at 9:30 p.m. Alaskan Daylight Saving Time on September 26, 1977. The moon will pass nearest the earth's dark shadow (the umbra) at mid-eclipse near 11:30 p.m. The eclipse will be over by 1:40 a.m. Tuesday.

Photographers will find the penumbral eclipse a good subject, using the same methods one applies to photographing the midnight sun except for allowing about ten times the exposure. The lunar eclipse can be viewed with the naked eye or through binoculars or telescopes.

The solar eclipse of October 12, 1977, will start about 9:50 a.m. At mid-eclipse, near 10:30 a.m., the moon will cover approximately 16% of the sun visible from Alaska. Total eclipse will occur in the eastern Pacific; Alaskans will see only a bite out of the edge of the sun. Note that a solar eclipse can only occur during the dark of the moon.

Never look directly at the sun during a solar eclipse, even through photographic negatives. The eye can be damaged fUrom a very short exposure, so be extra careful. An image of the sun can be projected onto a surface using a telescope or binoculars. Also one can use a "pinhole camera" made by punching a small hole through one side of a cardboard box. Let the sun shine through the hole so that the image appears on the interior of the opposite side of the box.