Gainesville sees rare partial eclipse; crowds gather at UF observatory

Hundreds of Gainesville residents and University of Florida students gathered Monday afternoon to view the rare solar eclipse at the UF Teaching Observatory.

Event organizers provided attendees with solar glasses for safely viewing the eclipse, and also offered five optical telescopes and two H-alpha telescopes for a special viewing of the eclipse. These allowed people to see unique details of the sun, according to a press release.

Ariana Majano, a 20-year-old UF health sciences sophomore, said she decided to come to the event to get glasses to safely view the eclipse. She said she planned on viewing the eclipse briefly before heading to a friend to hand off the glasses.

“I’m excited,” Majano said. “I am a little sad it’s only partial, but someday I’ll see the full total eclipse.”

What is a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse happens when the moon's orbit perfectly aligns between the earth and the sun to block out the sun, said Triana Almeyda, the director of the UF Teaching Observatory. The observatory is located on the UF campus east of Gale Lemerand Drive, south of Museum Road and just west of the Aerospace Engineering building.

Live Florida eclipse updates: Search ZIP for what time to be outside, see view from space

During a total solar eclipse, she said, there are a couple minutes where so much of the sun is blocked it is safe to look directly at it.

What did the eclipse look like in Gainesville?

The eclipse was scheduled to peak in Gainesville about 3 p.m., Almeyda said, though viewers could begin to see part of the sun blocked as early as 1:45 p.m.

In Gainesville the maximum coverage of the sun is around 60% to 65%, she said.

How can people safely view an eclipse?

According to Almeyda, there are a few ways to safely view an eclipse.

The first way is by wearing a pair of solar glasses, she said. These glasses have a special filter that blocks out 99% of light so users can safely look at the sun without damaging their eyes. Another way to look at an eclipse is through telescopes with special light-blocking filters on them.

For people at home, the eclipse can be viewed by poking a hole through an object and using it to project a shadow of the sun on the ground, Almeyda said.

“You can actually see that shadow go from this perfect circle to actually being eclipsed,” she said.

Why do bugs behave weird during an eclipse?

During a total eclipse bugs and animals may behave weird, Almeyda said.

“Basically what happens is that the sun is completely blocked and it gets so dark that it looks like night time,” she said. “So the insects don't know what to do, animals start coming out because they think it's night time now… and then the sun comes back and they start freaking out again because they're like, ‘Wait a minute, what just happened?’ ”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville residents, UF students gather to watch rare eclipse