An annular solar eclipse will dim the sky Saturday morning. That's when the moon comes between the earth and the sun at the furthest point in its orbit, obscuring all but the outermost rays.
While optimal viewing in the U.S is along the path of totality from Oregon to Texas, Brian Elerding with the Los Angeles Astronomical Society said Southern California will experience about 70% of the occlusion at 9:24 a.m.
"There are some wonderful ways you can look at it from home safely," he said. "NASA has an instruction manual about how to make a shoebox into an eclipse observing box where you cut a little hole in it for the sun to shine through. The combination of those things allows you to watch it as you're seeing a little projected image on the inside of the box."
Using a colander or steamer basket is also an option. The light through the holes projects numerous tiny eclipses onto the ground. And for those of us with a disco ball handy, it can be placed in a window to throw a multitude of sparkling eclipse images throughout a room. Instructions for a far more ambitious screen projection system can be found online.
It's common knowledge that looking directly into the sun is damaging to your eyes. But Elerding warned that's dangerous even during an eclipse. He also emphasized that sunglasses do not provide proper protection.
Only scientifically-engineered lenses for solar viewing are adequate, and those are only to be used to view the sun directly, not through binoculars or a telescope. Those devices, however, can be fitted with manufactured solar filters for safe viewing.
Volunteers with the Astronomical Society will bring out such equipment for eclipse viewing opportunities at the Griffith Observatory Saturday starting at 8 a.m. The phenomenon is also being streamed on the observatory’s YouTube channel.
You can pick up free glasses at L.A. libraries through Oct. 13, as long as supplies last.
If you’ve got proper viewing gear, keep it handy for Southern California’s next partial solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. It will appear as a total eclipse along a swath from Texas to Maine; it’s the last that’ll be visible in the U.S. until 2044.
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