Press Release - eclipse2015.ie

Contact: Mark Bailey
Armagh Observatory
Tel.: 028-3752-2928
Fax.: 028-3752-7174
College Hill
Armagh
Northern Ireland
BT61 9DG
Armagh Observatory
Press Release
ASTRONOMERS GEAR UP FOR GREAT PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE
Armagh O bservatory, 1 9 F ebruary 2 015: A rmagh O bservatory r eports t hat t he l argest p artial s olar eclipse v isible f rom N orthern I reland s ince 1 927, w hen 9 7 p ercent o f t he S un’s d isc w as o bscured, occurs b etween 0 8:26 a nd 1 0:38 o n t he m orning o f F riday 2 0 M arch 2 015. T his p artial e clipse i s the f irst s uch e clipse v isible f rom N orthern I reland s ince 1 A ugust 2 008, w hen l ess t han 2 0 p ercent of t he S un w as o bscured. T his y ear, a t e clipse m aximum a round 9.30am o n 2 0 M arch, t he M oon will e clipse m ore t han 9 3 p ercent o f t he S un’s d isc, l eaving j ust a t hin c rescent-­‐Sun o r “ smiley” uncovered. Partial e clipses o f t he S un a re n ot p articularly r are, b eing s een f rom a s ingle l ocation s uch a s Northern I reland a bout o nce e very t hree y ears, o n a verage. H owever, d eep p artial e clipses, s uch as t he o ne t his y ear, a re m uch r arer, o ccurring o n a verage j ust o nce o r t wice i n a h uman l ifetime. The n ext c omparably d eep e clipse w ill n ot o ccur u ntil 1 2 A ugust 2 026, a nd a fter t hat o bservers i n Northern I reland w ill h ave t o w ait u ntil 2 3 S eptember 2 090 b efore t hey c an s ee a s imilarly d eep eclipse t o t hat t his y ear, w hich c oincidentally o ccurs o n t he S pring E quinox. This y ear’s p artial s olar e clipse i s t herefore a r are a nd u nusual e vent, a nd e very e ffort i s b eing made t o o bserve i t s afely a nd r ecord i ts a ppearance a nd a ny a ssociated e nvironmental e ffects t hat might b e s een. A s w ith a ll t ime-­‐critical a stronomical e vents, w e c an o nly h ope t hat t he w eather will c ooperate a nd p roduce c lear s kies. Astronomers a cross t he i sland o f I reland a re p reparing t o o bserve t he e clipse, a nd s ome a re hosting s pecial e clipse p arties t o s how s chool g roups a nd t he g eneral p ublic t he f ascinating phenomenon. A rmagh O bservatory w ill b e o pening i ts d oors f rom 8 .30am o n t he m orning o f t he eclipse t o e xplain t he e vent a nd t o s how p eople h ow t o o bserve t he e clipse s afely. On S t P atrick’s D ay, a f ew d ays b efore t he e clipse, t he O bservatory w ill a lso b e h osting a F ree public l ecture a t 1 1.15am i n t he S tudio T heatre, t he M arket P lace, “ The I rish S un a nd t he G reat Solar E clipse o f 2 0 M arch 2 015”, b y D r E amon S cullion o f T rinity C ollege D ublin. This w ill b e f ollowed a t 2 .30pm, a lso o n S t P atrick’s D ay, b y F ree g uided t ours o f t he O bservatory and g uided l istenings o f a n ew o utdoor p ublic e xhibit, c alled “ aroundNorth”. T his i s a u nique sound i nstallation t hat d emonstrates t he a pparent r otation o f s tars a round t he N orth C elestial Pole. Those w ho w ish t o l earn m ore a bout t he G reat P artial E clipse a nd o ther e vents t aking p lace i n association w ith t he e clipse a round m id-­‐March a re a dvised t o consult t he O bservatory’s w ebsite o r contact t he O bservatory t o o btain f ree t ickets t o t he p ublic e vents. F ull i nformation o n t he e clipse is a vailable a t h ttp://www.eclipse2015.ie/ a nd http://star.arm.ac.uk/docs/leaflets/partial_solar_eclipse_2015mar20.pdf, w hile f ull i nformation on t he S t P atrick’s D ay e vents c an b e f ound a t: http://star.arm.ac.uk/press/2015/stpatricksday2015.html. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Mark Bailey at the Armagh
Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG. Tel.: 028-3752-2928; FAX: 0283752-7174; [email protected]; URL: http://climate.arm.ac.uk/.
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Armagh Observatory
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. There is very little tendency under normal circumstances to look at the Sun in
a way that might damage the eye, especially as the Sun is so bright that it is
difficult to stare at it directly. However, during a large partial eclipse the Sun
is the centre of attention, and with so much of the Sun covered it is tempting
and slightly easier to stare at it. NEVER DO SO. It is NEVER safe to look at
the Sun without proper eye protection. Failure to use proper observing
methods can result in permanent eye damage and severe retinal loss.
2. The principal causes of eclipse-related retinal burns are (i) viewing the
partially eclipsed Sun without suitable eye protection; (ii) looking directly at
the Sun through the pinhole of an indirect projection viewer; and (iii) viewing
the Sun though ordinary sunglasses, photographic neutral-density filters, or a
wide range of similarly inappropriate devices.
3. A view of the development of the 20 March 2015 partial eclipse, as seen from
Northern Ireland, is shown below, using images extracted from the excellent
UKHO website: http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/eclipse/0112015/. This image, which
may be used, is also available at:
http://star.arm.ac.uk/~meb/Belfast_United_Kingdom_2015mar20_collageA.jpg