There is all the difference under the sun between seeing a total eclipse of the sun and seeing a partial eclipse. Two different experiences.
Do you wonder why tens of thousands of Americans and hundreds of Alabamians are expected to spend time and money driving hundreds of miles to the path of totality on April 8? Couldn’t they just watch a partial eclipse right where they are?
You’re hearing more about the total eclipse of the sun as it gets closer (Monday, April 8, from 12:33 to 3:20 p.m. central time).
While residents in parts of 15 states will experience a total eclipse, folks in Alabama will see a much less impressive partial eclipse.
Alabamians in the Shoals area of northwest Alabama will get the most coverage of the sun by the moon – almost 93%. Those in the opposite corner, the Dothan area of southeast Alabama, will see only 79% coverage.
Just looking at the numbers, there would seem to be only a small difference between the total eclipse viewing and the partial. The truth is, there is a huge difference. Totality brings observable phenomena that are not present with even a 99% eclipse.
If you see a 99% partial eclipse, you have not experienced a total eclipse. They are two “totally” different experiences.
I should know. In August 2017, for the last total solar eclipse visible in the United States, my family and I drove to Clemson, S.C. It was in the path of totality. Because my sister had married into a Clemson family, it was a natural site selection.
We decided to view the eclipse on my brother-in-law’s pontoon boat. You see, Clemson University is on the shores of large Lake Hartwell. In fact, humorist Lewis Grizzard famously referred to Clemson as “basically Auburn with a lake.”
Taking the boat turned out to be a good decision because wispy clouds played with us where we first anchored. We quickly moved to a different spot and were able to enjoy a perfect view of something I had never seen before.
I will try to use everyday language rather than the astronomical terms that permeate the eclipse articles I have read. I will write plainly even though I took a course in Astronomy 101 at the University of Alabama.
The skies began to darken a bit as if dusk were approaching. It was. Wildlife began to make the sounds that you hear before sunset. The temperature noticeably chilled, but just a bit.
We had protective eyewear and binoculars.
As the moon intruded more and more into the sight path to the sun, you could see the arched rim of the moon as it progressed over the roundish sun.
Nothing yet seemed that different from a partial eclipse, which I had seen before in Alabama.
The differences began just before the moon completely covered the sun. There was a magical moment that produced “the diamond ring,” when the last rays of the sun peeked around the edges of the Moon. I called it “the ring of fire.” I was humming the Johnny Cash song.
Then we saw a sight known as Bailey’s Beads, where rays of sunlight stream between mountains and canyons at the Moon's edge. I called this “heaven’s fireworks.”
Day turned into night, birds stopped singing, stars and planets became visible in the darkened sky, and the normally hidden solar corona became visible as white rays streaming around the dark lunar disk.
We were able to safely remove our eye protection during the heart of the eclipse (although this is not recommended.) As soon as the sun began reappearing, we put back on our eye protection.
There is a huge difference between being in the path of totality, where the moon blocks 100% of the sun, versus a nearby location where the Moon blocks even 99% of the sun. That little bit of sunlight will wipe out the more profound effects of totality.
You won’t see the ring of fire and heaven’s fireworks in a partial eclipse.
What Alabama folks will experience Monday afternoon will be more like a growing cloud cover. The sky will darken a bit, and a bit more, and then more. Some folks will not even notice that a partial eclipse occurred over Alabama skies. It will be more like a partly cloudy afternoon that becomes a heavy cloud cover.
For Alabama's amateur astronomers who get their protective eyewear and stop to observe the sun and the moon, they will be able to see the crescent of the moon encroaching on the sightpath to the sun. It will become a substantial encroachment, even in the 79% Dothan area. While nothing like seeing a total eclipse, it offers a good view of a partial.
For those wanting to witness the total eclipse, you will have to quickly do some research and find yourself a spot along the path of totality. It crosses well west and north of Alabama and includes parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as small parts of Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.
Major cities inside the path of totality include San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Montreal.
Some of those astro-tourists who spend time and money to go to the path of totality will be disappointed. Local weather conditions can hamper or ruin their view. Cloud cover can interfere. Those disappointed would-be eclipse watchers can give themselves a raincheck. They can re-make their plans to see the next total solar eclipse visible in the United States on August 23, 2044.
"You flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun." — Carly Simon, “You’re So Vain”
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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