With the world observing the 40th anniversary of the historic moon landing today which American astronaut Neil Armstrong described as “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” J. Ward Moody, professor of physics and astronomy at the Brigham Young University who is currently on Saipan upon the invitation of Palms Resort Saipan, said this total solar eclipse or when the moon passes between the sun and the earth is really special.
He said 75 percent of the solar eclipse will be witnessed here on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This year’s solar eclipse is projected to last for up to six minutes and 39 seconds making it the longest of its kind in the 21st century.
Scientists said it will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132.
“So in many ways this is really special,” said Moody. “Most of the earth doesn’t see it. The United States is not going to see it. Russia is not going to see it.”
The western edge of China, certain parts of Japan like Iwo Jima, northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati will also see the eclipse.
“In the Northern Marianas, you’re going to see 75 percent of the eclipse. Guam would be a little less,” said Moody.
Using a mathematical method, Moody said a group of scientists calculate where the solar and lunar eclipses would occur and they never miss each time.
“They never missed. I don’t know how they can be so accurate,” said Moody who is also the managing editor of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, a world-leading publisher of astronomy conference proceedings.
Pin-hole camera
Moody said it’s dangerous to directly stare at the sky to watch the eclipse.
He said the best way to view the phenomenon is by making the so-called pin-hole camera or watch it from under a tree where the shadow would be reflected in between the branches and leaves.
“The best way to view it is to take a sheet of paper, poke a hole, using a pin or the tip of the pen and look at the shadow that it makes. It’s called the pin-hole camera. The shadow creates an image,” said the professor.
With the sky covering the earth, Moody said it’s important to understand astronomy and their impact on people’s lives.
“The sky is half of where we live. The earth is where we live obviously, but the sky is the other half. You can’t really understand what it means to be alive in this universe without understanding the heavens,” he said.
“People ought to step back and just think about it. Get a book. Get on the internet and try to understand a little bit better what it means to have a sun, to have a moon…. It took people thousands of years to figure this out. All we have to do is spend half an hour to get the knowledge that they have given us,” he added.
Islanders are famous for using astronomy to navigate around the Pacific Region.
