On April 8, 2024, a partial solar eclipse was seen from Rosemont. This was a rare event, and the next such a phenomenon will be seen again only in 2044. All Rosemont students were provided with solar eclipse viewers which some students started to “collect” after the eclipse was over. The moon covered about 50% of the Sun as seen from Rosemont, with the peak of the solar eclipse taking place during snack time.
The zone of totality is the area from where people can see the total solar eclipse. Dallas, Texas, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Buffalo, New York are some of the cities that experienced the total eclipse. The places where only the partial solar eclipse is seen is in the Moon’s umbra. In the umbra, only part of the Sun is covered by the Moon, resulting in a partial eclipse.
The solar eclipse viewers that were provided to all Rosemont students for viewing the eclipse because even when half of the Sun is covered, the Sun is still so powerful that it can permanently damage your vision in a fraction of a second. The only time that it is safe to look at the Sun directly without any eye protection is during totality, when the Sun is completely covered by the Moon. Even then, you will not be looking directly at the Sun, but at the moon. The light “lines” that are around the Moon during a total eclipse are called the Sun;s Corona, and are the upper parts of the Sun’s atmosphere. They are usually not seen because of the contrast with the Sun’s very harsh and bright light, which is the same reason why you cannot see the stars during the day even though they are there.