PSU professor shines light on the science behind Monday’s rare solar eclipse
PSU — Ahead of Monday’s solar eclipse, a professor at Pittsburg State explains just how rare this astronomical event is and how it takes place.
“The simple version is — the moon gets in the way of us seeing the sun,” said Dr. David Pearson, PSU Assistant Professor of Physics.
But there’s so much more to it than that, at least, according to Pittsburg State University Assistant Professor of Physics, Dr. David Pearson.
“We do get solar eclipses, they happen about two times a year, but they are only visible on certain parts of the Earth. So it is pretty unique to be very close to where a path to an eclipse is going to go because that’s something that could take many, many years before another one comes anywhere near here,” said Dr. David Pearson.
Though we’re fortunate enough to be so close to a path of visibility, Dr. Pearson says it wasn’t luck that put us in this position, but science.
“The moon’s orbit is tilted, with respect to where the sun is in the sky, so it doesn’t always get in front of the sun, even though it is kind of passing by the sun once a month. So there is only a couple of special points in the sky, and you need both the moon and the sun to be at that point, in order to get an eclipse,” said Dr. David Pearson.
For those watching the event in or around Pittsburg on Monday, Dr. Pearson says there is one major rule to follow.
“Here in Pittsburg, we are only going to have a partial eclipse — so that means it’s not going to completely block the sun from our view, here. Anybody who is not in that path of totality — if you’re gonna watch it — glasses on at all times,” said Dr. David Pearson.
And set your alarms for 1:48 PM on Monday, as Dr. Pearson believes that will be the peak time of the partial solar eclipse.
