2024 April 7 morning

Aziza Cooper writes:  On April 6, I saw two Sara Orangetips on the west slope of Mount Douglas, where Glendenning Trail enters the oaks.  On April 5, there was one Mourning Cloak at Red Barn/Tod Creek Flats.

Solar Eclipse
Jeremy Tatum  (retired astronomer)

 There will be a small partial eclipse of the Sun tomorrow, starting at 10:41 am PDT,  maximum at 11:29 am, ending at 12:19 pm.  It will be much smaller than the partial eclipse that we saw last October, but still worth watching.

­How to watch it safely:  It is very dangerous to attempt to look directly at the Sun, with or without sunglasses.  Even expensive polarizing sunglasses, for which you paid hundreds of dollars, are not remotely suitable for protecting your eyes.  The best way (in my opinion the only way) to watch a partial eclipse safely is to do so under the direct supervision of an experienced astronomer.  We are very fortunate here in Victoria, that you can go either to UVic or to the DAO (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory), where there will be lots of astronomers showing the eclipse safely, and I strongly advise people to go to one of these places.

Sorry – I’m not available myself, since I will be visiting at a care home at the time, where I shall be showing the eclipse to residents and staff.

One interesting observation that you can make is to look at the dappled shadow of a leafy broad-leafed tree.  There, you will see hundreds of pinhole images of the partially-eclipsed Sun.