The heavens declare His righteousness,
Psalm 97:6 (NASB 1995)
And all the peoples have seen His glory.
In 2017, the total solar eclipse was VERY close to our home. And thanks to our favorite astronomer, Jay Ryan of Classical Astronomy, we were ready. We had ordered our glasses early to avoid the rush. The kids were 16 and 12, and this was the perfect homeschool science lab to kick off our school year.
Since our house was not quite within the line of totality, we packed up our gear and drove 20 minutes to our church – which WAS within that small band. We spent the afternoon in the church’s field, relaxing and observing this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.
And it was MARVELOUS!
At that time, our favorite astronomer encouraged us to mark our calendars for the 2024 solar eclipse. We looked at the 2024 line of totality and discussed where we might be in 7 years. How much would change for the kids in that time? Perhaps one of them could be living in Texas or somewhere else within the line of totality. Perhaps we would travel to see it together.
Fast Forward
Well here it is 2024. The eclipse will take place this Monday. Many things have changed. Both kids have graduated and are working. One lives in another state and is attending school part time. However none of us are within the line of totality.
So while I knew the eclipse was coming, I had not given it too much thought. I was not planning to travel for it, though some of my friends were. The whole thing was something affecting Texas, Indiana, and Maine – not us.
Then last week I began wondering whether we might actually see a partial eclipse here in Georgia. That might be neat – even if it isn’t the ‘real thing.’
Turns out that the eclipse is much wider than I had thought! Our house will actually be at about 83%. That’s not too shabby. I just might take some time to observe it on Monday.
Ideas
That got me thinking. I still have my glasses from 2017, but my friends and family most likely do not. And they probably did not order more because they, like me, were thinking it was not going to affect us here in Georgia.
So today I am sharing a couple of ideas for observing the eclipse without glasses. Even if you do have them, the eclipse lasts a few hours. This will provide some entertainment when you are not staring up at the sky.
A Peep Hole
Punch a small hole in a sturdy piece of cardboard or a plastic lid. Hold it in the sunlight and over a piece of paper. Amazingly, the shadow of the moon will show up in that tiny hole.
A Colander
What is better than one eclipse? Dozens of them! This was great fun. We took our kitchen colander and held it over a sheet of paper. The shadow of the moon was visible through each hole in that colander. (I apologize for the extremely poor photography. Seven years ago I was not expecting to use these in a blog.)
Leaves
This was most surprising to us. And best of all: it requires no special tools or preparation – only a shade tree. We had been sitting beneath a tree as we waited for the eclipse to begin. It was August, after all. Once the moon began to block a portion of the sun, we noticed that the sunlight filtering through the leaves was also partially eclipsed!
Resources
- To find out what percentage of the sun will be eclipsed in your area and what that looks like, check out NASA’s site and enter your zip code.
- If this event sparks an interest in astronomy for you or your kids, check out ClassicalAstronomy.com. Jay Ryan is a home educating dad and amateur astronomer who makes the night sky understandable for average people without fancy equipment.
- If you are looking for a great astronomy curriculum for your middle through high school students, check out Signs & Seasons.
Do you have plans to watch the eclipse? What other creative ways have you found for viewing it without glasses? Share in the comments.