"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars, and on the earth
distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts
failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming
on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken."
(Luke 21:25-26)
There will be a brilliant "Ring of Fire" in the skies over America today
and a partial solar eclipse will be visible in least seven states.
Unfortunately, New Jersey is not on the list!
A full eclipse of the sun occurs when the moon passes between the
earth and the sun and blocks the face of the sun with only an outer
rim of light visible during the peak, which resembles a ring of fire.
A partial eclipse gives the sun a crescent moon-like appearance.
A partial eclipse will officially begin at 8:05 a.m. (PT ) on
the Oregon coast. The full eclipse will begin at 9:16 a.m. and
will be visible on the eastern border of Oregon by 9:22 a.m.
The eclipse will cross over into Nevada and then southward
to the Four Corners region-where the borders of Colorado, Utah,
Arizona, and New Mexico converge- around 9:11a.m. (MT).
The eclipse will then pass into New Mexico and across
Texas, beginning in San Antonio at 10:23 a.m. (CT)
and pass on to leave the mainland United States
at Corpus Christi, Texas. It will then pass over
Central America, Columbia, and Brazil before
coming to an end over the Atlantic Ocean.
It is interesting to note that in the cultural beliefs of the Navajo Indians,
viewing an eclipse can result in health and spiritual problems.
These indigenous people of the American Southwest are
keen observers of the effect of the forces of nature,
and especially an eclipse's perceived effect on animals.
"Back in history, as the Dine people, we were raising grazing livestock,
horses, cattle and sheep," says Navajo cultural and language teacher
Carl Begay. During an eclipse, he says sheep "would know
what to do already" and would stop grazing in the field.
"They settle in, put their heads down, not even sleep, just huddle.
So that tells you as a human being something is going on
with nature. So animal behavior guides us."
Today, Navajo Nation communities shut down during
the time of an eclipse and avoid the event all together.
For those who are less cautious, please remember to never
look directly up at the sun during an eclipse unless you are
wearing special viewing glasses to protect your eyes.
A better viewing alternative would be to visit a local
planetarium to observe the eclipse or watch the live
video of this event on NASA's YouTube Channel.
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