For the third time in seven years, Oregonians will get to see a solar eclipse. It won’t be the total eclipse of the sun witnessed in 2017, nor the ring of fire from last year’s annular eclipse. But on Monday morning, sky-watchers will have a reason to look up.
In his office at the University of Oregon, astronomer Scott Fisher is clicking around on a sky simulator.
“Every time I click—there goes the moon in front of the sun. And I wanted to confirm when the maximum eclipse is gonna be," he said. "And it’s going to be almost exactly 11 a.m. Monday morning in Eugene.”
Fisher said it’s all about the orbit of the earth, moon and sun. On April 8, Oregon will be in the path of the moon’s shadow—but just partially.
For the best possible views, the resident astronomer suggested heading up, above the horizon. Cloud cover is always a concern for eclipse viewing. According to the National Weather Service, Eugene and Salem areas are historically overcast 50% of the time in April and clear only about 10% of the time.
Fisher explained during the partial eclipse about a quarter of the sun will be covered by the moon, “like somebody came up and took a bite out of a chocolate chip cookie.”
The eclipse will begin around 10:30 a.m. and end about 12:30 p.m. Fisher warned eclipse glasses must be worn during the entire cosmic event.
Looking at the sun without protection, even for a short period of time, can do serious and lasting damage to your eyes. If you still have solar glasses from past eclipses, make sure there are no rips in them. If the glasses are intact, they are still protective, Fisher said.
While the Pacific Northwest is getting a partial eclipse, folks on a narrow track from Texas to Maine will experience totality on April 8, 2024. A total eclipse will cut a path through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Totality can also be seen in portions of Mexico and Canada.
Fisher said it will be 2081 before another total solar eclipse crosses Oregon. A total eclipse will cross over Montana and the Dakotas on August 22, 2044, and another will sweep across the southern part of the country, from northern California to Florida, on August 12, 2045.
