Clouds may obscure partial solar eclipse Saturday; total eclipse happening April 8

An eclipse watch party in Clinton will celebrate Saturday's partial solar eclipse.

Saturday's cloudy and rainy weather forecast may make it difficult to witness the eclipse in this region. But no one will miss the April 8 total solar eclipse. In April, this region will experience up to 95% darkness in the middle of the day, Mark Fairclough, director of the Robinson Planetarium at Adrian College, said.

A solar eclipse, according to NASA, “happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth that either fully or partially blocks the sun's light in some areas.”

Typically, there are two partial solar eclipses a year, Fairclough said.

In a partial eclipse, the sun, moon and Earth are not perfectly lined up, so only part of the sun appears to be covered, giving the sun a crescent shape and casting some amount of darkness.

Saturday’s annular eclipse will begin in late morning. The shadow of the moon will be visible from 11:44 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.

“It’s .48 magnitude. Darkness won’t even be noticeable. If the sun is a complete circle, a football (shape), that’s about what you’ll see,” Fairclough said. “Adrian is the closest you’re going to get to the eclipse in Michigan. If someone really wanted to see this, they would go out west, Oregon to Texas.”

Prime viewing on Saturday will be at 1:02 p.m. in Hillsdale, 1:03 p.m. in Adrian and 1:04 p.m. in Monroe.

“(Prime viewing) will only last a few moments, two to three minutes at best,” Fairclough said.

An eclipse watch party will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Clinton Township Public Library, 100 Brown St. in Clinton.

"We will still be having our eclipse party, regardless of the weather," Mary Gallup, director, said. "We will have an astronomer from the University of Michigan and a local meteorologist joining us with cool gadgets and presentations. We will also have crafts and a livestream of the eclipse."

The library will provide solar eclipse glasses. Attendees should bring blankets or chairs.

The weather will make seeing Saturday’s eclipse difficult.

“There is a 9% chance we’ll see it; it’s very remote,” Fairclough said. “There is 90% cloud cover and 91% chance of rain.”

Fairclough stresses safe viewing of all eclipses.

“Viewing can’t be done safely without eye protection. You will damage or destroy your eye or go blind looking at an eclipse. You must use eye protection. We’re not talking about sunglasses, but shielding protection, like welder’s glasses. You can easily purchase, for a minuscule amount, solar eye protection,” Fairclough said.

Safe eclipse viewing was among the topics covered last during at an eclipse program at the Bedford Branch of the Monroe County Library System in Temperance. Another program is planned for the spring.

“We had about 25 people last week,” Jen Saul, reference librarian at the branch, said. “I’m doing the same event in April, and I expect more then because it’s a bigger eclipse.”

Saul had planned an eclipse viewing party for Saturday, but canceled it because of the weather forecast. A viewing party will be held in April. All branches of the Monroe County Library System also will have solar glasses available.

A total eclipse, such as the one on April 8, happens “when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk,” NASA said.

Total eclipses are rarer. The next one after April’s will occur in August 2044.

Prime eclipse viewing on April 8 will be at 3:13 p.m. in this area. Totality, or the maximum phase of the total eclipse, will be visible in Ohio.

Fairclough starting planning for April’s eclipse six years ago, when he booked a bed and breakfast room in Norwalk, Ohio.

“That will be a fascinating one. The weather should be better. Eclipse chasing is a very common hobby. Millions of people will be moving to get to the center of the path. (In the center you’ll see) the diamond ring effect, solar providence, flares from the sun, solar storms. These only can be seen in Ohio and that strip that comes through Mexico up through Ohio,” he said.

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Fairclough was in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, for the last total solar eclipse in 2017.

“Totality, it’s magnificent and it’s very strange. There’s nighttime darkness and birds and animals react to it,” he said. “Birds head to their nests. Cats get very spooked. In Hopkinsville, we noticed even plants were reacting. All of nature kind of responds to this thing,” he said.

Fairclough has been at Adrian College since 2000, but he’s been in the astronomy field for years.

“I held my first telescope in fourth grade,” he said.

He has degrees in biology/chemistry and physics and recently completed an astrobiology degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

To see an interactive map and simulations of upcoming eclipses, visit eclipse2024.org/eclipse_cities/statemap.html.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Partial eclipse occurring Saturday; total eclipse happening April 8