Monday, August 21, will be the first total eclipse of the sun visible from the contiguous United States since 1979, although here in the Morongo Basin, we’ll only see a partial solar eclipse. The last time a total eclipse was visible from coast to coast was on June 8, 1918. Sky’s the Limit Observatory on Utah Trail in Twentynine Palms will hold an eclipse-watching event, complete with solar viewing glasses, starting at 9:45. And the Andromeda Society will hold a solar eclipse party at the Yucca Valley Community Center, behind the museum, starting about 9 a.m. Both events will have solar eclipse viewing glasses, telescopes, and binoculars. But if you just want to step outside your home or office to watch it, managing editor Tami Roleff has some tips on how to watch it safely…
And later Monday night, a lunar drumming circle will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Community Center, near the picnic tables behind the Hi-Desert Nature Museum.
A partial solar eclipse will be visible in the Morongo Basin Monday morning, August 21. Starting at about 9:07, the moon will travel between the Earth and the sun, and cast its shadow on the earth. In the Morongo Basin, roughly 70 percent of the sun will be eclipsed. The maximum eclipse will be at 10:24 a.m., and the eclipse will end about 11:49. Never look directly into the sun, even with sunglasses, or through telephoto lens, binoculars, or a telescope. For instructions on how to watch a solar eclipse using a pinhole projector, visit this link:
http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/make-pinhole-projector.html
