THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM 207-780-4249   www.usm.maine.edu/planet
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70 Falmouth Street   Portland, Maine 04103 43.6667° N
 70.2667° W  Altitude:  10 feet below sea level Founded January 1970 Julian
Date:  2459368.18
2020-2021: CXLI


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Thursday, June 3, 2021
Eclipse Questions


The best laid plans...
We were originally intending to continue the night sky calendar today.
However, we have some fantastic questions pertaining to the June 10th
partial solar eclipse and wanted to address them straight away.  After all,
the eclipse is now about one week away.   The June night sky calendar will
continue next week.   Tomorrow's test, incidentally. is entirely
mythological.


*Are you sure we can't look at the Sun when it is eclipsed and on the
horizon?  I've watched the Sun rise many times without a problem?   -C.M.*
We strongly recommend that you NEVER look at the Sun, even when it is on
the horizon.   You don't want to focus on such a powerful energy source at
any time.    Please exercise extreme caution!!


*Will the planetarium be open for the event?  -S.D*
Not this time.
We just recently opened and haven't had time to plan or advertise.
We will be open for the November 2021 lunar eclipse, however.

*Will anybody be hosting an event?  S.D. again*
We're not sure, yet.  However, if any organization is planning an observing
event, we will let you know.

*Why is the eclipse partial here and not partial elsewhere?  -H.V.*
It is all a matter of geometry.    In the image below -which is certainly
not to scale- only observers within the region where the moon's shadow cone
is the narrowest will see a total solar eclipse.  Those observers within
the penumbra, the grey region above and below the dark umbra will only see
the moon partially obscure the Sun.  The closer an observer is to the
totality region, the greater the obscuration percentage will be,

[image: moonsroleeclipsethumnail.jpg]
*Will a lunar eclipse follow this solar eclipse?  -Harold P.*
No. The lunar eclipse always occurred...on May 26th,   Lunar and solar
eclipses do occur in pairs.  Sometimes the lunar eclipse precedes the solar
eclipse. At other times it follows it.   For instance, the November 19,
2021 lunar eclipse precedes a solar eclipse that occurs on December 4th.
That solar eclipse will only be visible along the extreme southern regions
of Earth.


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