Iolan Stan Grigsby usually has two responses when somebody asks him about astronomy: “Look up, and look it up.”
Grigsby, a retired physicist and instructor, spoke to roughly 25 or so Iolans at the Iola Public Library Saturday during an annual, or partial solar eclipse, that crossed the western United States.
Overcast skies spoiled much of the sighting opportunities for local skygazers, but a momentary break in the clouds allowed spectators an occasional glimpse of the sun blocked by the moon.
Grigsby’s presentation was part history, part math.
His noted eclipses and other celestial phenomena often played a part in social changes and scientific advances.
The moon is capable of covering most of the sun’s light during a solar eclipse, even though the sun is roughly 400 times larger than the moon, Grigsby explained, because the moon is so much closer to the earth. That’s why they appear the same size from the ground.
Saturday’s partial eclipse meant the moon’s path did not completely block out the sun. Locally, about 70% of the sun was covered.
HUMBOLDT’S Mike Myer, an avid astronomer, was in southern Utah for Saturday’s eclipse, where more of the sun was blocked by the moon.
Myer set up his cameras and telescopes next to a ridge southwest of Buff, Utah.
State and national parks across the western United States were crammed with sky-gazers, so Myer opted instead for a more remote viewing area.
He ended up setting up shop near a couple from the Netherlands, who traveled to the United States solely to see the eclipse.
“There was a state highway next to us, and it was interesting that during the annularity phase, there were no cars going along the highway at all,” Myer said. “I think all the traffic had stopped and people were finding places to pull over and watch the eclipse.”
One observer there recorded a 14-degree temperature drop during the annularity, Myer said.
KANSANS will not have to wait long to see the next one, Myer noted.
The United States will be a favorable place to watch a total solar eclipse next year. On April 8, a total eclipse will pass from Texas through central Arkansas and then end up in the northeastern part of the United States.
