If you look back in the archives, you can find the first installment of this series on skywatching from Narberth. Just because we are beset by light pollution doesn't mean you can't see some really cool stuff!
In Part II, let's talk about the sun. Obviously, no light pollution will keep it from our sights. And, it is up in the sky when most of us are awake. That is helpful. However, cloudy days can definitely put a damper on observing the sun. But, with rainy June behind us, we have had a nice stretch of sunny days.
Sunspots
The sun has cooperated in another way. The first major sunspots in two years appeared last week. They are just about to disappear as that face of the sun rotates away from us. Want to see it firsthand? First, a warning:
YOU SHOULD NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN, EVEN WITH SUNGLASSES OR OTHER PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR!
Looking at the sun directly is a bad idea. Looking at the sun directly through binoculars or other magnifying optic is a sure way to become instantly and permanently blinded. Don't do it.
Instead, place a piece of white paper on the ground. Aim your binoculars or telescope at the sun and try to get the eyepiece to project the sun's image onto the paper. That is a safe way to look. And, if you move them back and forth carefully (by hand) you'll get it in focus. The edges of the disc will be sharp. Then look carefully and you'll see those sunspots right at the sun's edge.
Scientists are puzzled by the sun's extremely quiet period recently. Hopefully this spot, #1024, will mark the beginning of a new 11-year solar cycle. Expect more regular sunspots as the next few years approach.
Total Eclipse of the Sun
There is one other solar phenomenon that beats all other skywatching hands down: a total solar eclipse. They are considered incredible and dramatic celestial events. Perhaps you could call them the rock concert of skywatching. Dedicated eclipse watchers chase them as they appear across the globe. Unfortunately, eclipses are quite rare and unless you are willing to travel to see one, the time between eclipses over a particular spot usally exceed a human lifetime.
In the near future (astronomically speaking), you'll have a chance to drive a few hundred miles to Kentucky (2017) or Niagara Falls (2024) to experience one. A total solar eclipse doesn't come to Narberth until May 1, 2079. On that day the sun will appear already partially eclipsed at dawn. It will then rise in the sky, growing ever dimmer. Then we'll return to total darkness for a few more minutes.
Narberth's last total solar eclipse was viewed by the Lenni Lenape people on July 29th, 1478 (actually it was July 18th in the Julian calendar used in Europe at the time). So, in a sense, we don't have much longer to wait!
