Drew to see 95.9% eclipse next Saturday afternoon

The moon will blot out the sun over Madison Saturday, March 7, beginning at 12:25 p.m. Maximum coverage will come at 1:42 p.m. The spectacle will end at 2:55 p.m.

While the eclipse will not total in northern New Jersey or the New York City area, from here the moon will appear to cover all but 4.1% of the sun. Weather permitting, some degree of eclipse will be observable for about 2 1/2 hours from all 48 contiguous states of the nation.

The path of totality—with its deep twilight, bright corona, erie shadow bands, "Bailey's Beads," and startling red flash—will be within range for those who have the time and inclination. They must go either north to Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, or South to a 100-mile-wide coastal strip starting on the Gulf coast of Florida at Tallahassee, and extending northeast to southern Maryland.

Full details may be obtained from the February issue of Sky and Telescope magazine available in the University library. 

During every solar eclipse, some viewers suffer permanent eye damage from looking at the partly hidden sun without proper safeguards. Two thicknesses of developed (black) fully exposed photographic film protect the eyes adequately for brief viewings.