TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — On Monday, April 8th, Tucsonans will be able to see a rare celestial event as a total solar eclipse takes place, marking the first occurrence since 2017.
Andrew Lunt, CEO of Lunt Solar Systems, said while the city won't witness totality, we will be able to witness a partial eclipse. We can expect the moon to cover approximately 75 percent of the sun's diameter, with the event lasting about three hours.
The path of totality stretches from Mexico, through Texas, and extends to Maine. Totality is the brief moment when the moon completely covers the sun and will only last about four minutes.
"Totality is when the moon is completely covering the sun and the entire sky goes dark. If you are in an area that is fairly flat around you, you will see a 360° sunset. The sun is extremely active right now which means this could be one of the most active coronas we’ve ever seen around the edge of an eclipse in the history of recording eclipses,” said Lunt.
For those planning to witness the eclipse firsthand, it is important to purchase a pair of eclipse glasses because they are necessary for eye protection. Lunt Solar will offer glasses starting tomorrow, or you can obtain them from the Flandrau Science Center, 601 E. University Blvd., during their open hours, Tuesday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
“Essentially, these glasses block out 100% of all dangerous ultraviolet and 100% of all dangerous infrared. They also reduce the brightness of the sun down to appear to a point where it’s actually comfortable to view the sun even actually viewing the sun, through eclipse glasses will will look even less bright than looking at a full moon. So it dims it down to a point where your eyes are comfortable, and your eyes are safe,” said Lunt.
The partial eclipse is predicted to start around 10 a.m., with the moon progressively covering 75 percent of the sun shortly after 11 a.m. For additional details and information, you can visit Lunt Solar Systems website.
Flandrau will be hosting a series of eclipse-related events leading up to Monday, as well eclipse viewing on the UA Mall. Glasses will be available to purchase at that time as well.
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