Melissa Russell
Belmont residents are invited to a solar eclipse viewing party.
In celebration of the total solar eclipse crossing North America on April 8, the Belmont Recreation Department invites the public to witness this awe-inspiring celestial event together at Belmont’s Town Field.
Recreation Director Brandon Fitts wanted to organize a community event to celebrate the eclipse, a “once-in-a-lifetime event.” The department teamed up with the Beech Street Center and the Friends of the Belmont Library to celebrate on Town Field at the Beech Street Center with solar system-themed crafts, games, food, and music. Knucklebones will provide games, and hot dogs will be served from the Trolley Dog food truck.
“It’s going to be a really fun, collaborative event,” Fitts said.
What is a total solar eclipse?
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the sun from view and casting a shadow onto our planet. Those in the path of totality see the sky darken as the sun is obscured, and the sun’s corona becomes visible as a ring of fire encircling the moon.
The April 8 eclipse will travel over 13 states from Texas to Maine, with northern New England offering prime totality and Vermont and New Hampshire getting the best views.
While the Boston area won’t experience complete totality, John Swoboda, a research scientist at the MIT Haystack Observatory in Westford, said that—weather permitting—we should see 95 percent coverage in this area.
Swoboda will study the atmosphere around Earth and the ionosphere, the upper part of the atmosphere that influences radio waves for communication and navigation, to see what happens “when the sun shuts off in a very small piece of the atmosphere in a short period of time.”
“Think of it as throwing a pebble into water,” he said. “You see weird wave phenomena happening.”
Swoboda said that by observing the eclipse’s impact on the ionosphere, he and his team will learn more about how “space weather” works.
“I call it space weather because we have so many satellites up there, so we have to think about this like a weather report,” he said. “We are trying to develop monitoring techniques, like Doppler radar for weather, for space weather.”
Swoboda said he does not expect the eclipse to disrupt GPS or other satellite communications, but such studies could be helpful in the future to mitigate risk to satellite systems.
“Just like you won’t go fishing if there is going to be a big storm, you’re not going to launch a satellite if there is going to be a big solar storm,” he said.
On April 8, the partial eclipse is expected to begin in our area around 2 p.m., peak at about 3:30 p.m., and conclude by 4:30 p.m. Fitts recommends walking or taking public transportation to the viewing party as the Beech Street Center will be in operation, and parking may not be available.
The event will be held weather permitting.
Safety first
Only view an eclipse through solar viewing glasses designed specifically for eclipses. Eschewing the glasses risks serious eye injury.
Fitts said the Recreation Department has ordered 500 pairs of viewing glasses, which will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The next total solar eclipse occurs in 2044, but unlike this year’s celestial event, the path of totality will not be visible in New England.
