Solar Eclipse In NYC: How To See It

NEW YORK, NY — Where will you be during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21?

Each of the Lower 48 states will be plunged into at least partial darkness for a few moments between late morning and early afternoon in what NASA is calling the “Great American Eclipse.”

Although the sun won't be totally covered in New York, in the city experts are predicting 71 percent of it will be obscured.

The eclipse is expected to last 90 minutes beginning at about 1:23 p.m. when the moon touches the edge of the sun. The middle of eclipse, which sees the maximum amount of sun coverage, will be around 2:44 p.m. when the moon is closest to the center of the sun. It ends at around 4 p.m. as the moon leaves the sun’s edge.

If you can’t be outside during the total solar eclipse, NASA will have live video from several cities.

Safety: See It, But Don’t See It

Regardless of how much sunlight is blocked, the eclipse is a “see it, but don’t see it” events. In other words, don’t look directly at the sun. Looking directly at a solar eclipse, whether total or partial, can seriously and permanently injure your eyes.

Eye Protection Is Critical For Viewing The Solar Eclipse

Your sunglasses won’t protect you. You can buy special glasses commercially — we found these eclipse glasses on Amazon.com for $12.69 — but you may want to check with local science museums, schools and astronomy clubs for certified glasses. Or you can make your own sun funnel or pinhole camera.

Superstitions: The Bear Ate The Sun

Legends in ancient cultures attributed the temporary disappearance of the sun to celestial dragons and other mythical creatures, wolves and even giant frogs who either ate the sun or stole it. Among some cultures, the solar eclipse was a foreboding sign the gods were angry or that the siblings the sun and the moon were quarreling, according to timeanddate.com. In many cultures, “eclipse” means to eat.

Among the Pomo, an indigenous group of people who lived in the Northwest United States, the literal translation of “eclipse” is “got bit by a bear.” The legend is that a bear mixed it up with the sun and took a bite out of it and then decided to have a slice of moon as well, causing a lunar eclipse.

Scientists and astronomers long ago solved the riddle of the solar eclipse — it’s simply what happens when the moon masks the sun as it passes in front of it. Still, some superstitions remain in modern culture, including that solar eclipses are dangerous for pregnant women and their unborn children, or that food cooked during an eclipse is poisonous.

In Italy, though, the superstitions aren’t as gloomy as the sky when the moon blots out the sun. Instead, the eclipse is prime flower planting time; it’s believed they will bloom brighter and more colorful than flowers planted at other times of the year.

Other claims about negative effects on human behavior have been debunked by scientists. So go out and enjoy the eclipse with unfettered joy. Make sure you protect your eyes, though.

Lead photo via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (additional reporting by Beth Dalbey/Patch)