COLUMBIA, S.C. — If you were in South Carolina back in 2017, you probably remember the solar eclipse that was seen across several states. This April, we are set to have another one, but this eclipse will look a bit different.
“In 2017, we were in the path of totality, so we were in that very narrow strip where the moon completely covered the disk of the sun,” Elizabeth Klimek said. Klimek is the planetarium manager at the South Carolina State Museum.
On April 8, South Carolina will only see a partial eclipse.
“Getting to see a partial one is pretty cool, too. It's not super rare, but rare enough that it's just one of those neat celestial events to be able to experience,” Klimek said
A partial eclipse is when the moon only covers about 70% of the sun. Klimek says viewers of the eclipse should take safety precautions.
“When there was a total solar eclipse like the one back in 2017, you could take your eclipse glasses off once the moon was completely in front of the sun blocking the sun’s disk. Since that will not be the case for us here in Columbia this year, you definitely don’t want to take off your glasses at any point in time,” she said.
Martin Bowers is the director of Milton Memorial Observatory at the University of South Carolina. He says eclipses are more than just a cool sight.
“They are used to study the sun. The sun’s corona is normally not visible and that is studied often during eclipse to look at the various shapes, the intensities,” Bowers said. The corona is the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere that is usually covered by its light.
Museum officials say the eclipse will last about two hours.
"The partial solar eclipse here in Columbia starts just before 2 p.m., around 1:52 in the afternoon and that’s when the moon will start to move in front of the sun and at maximum partial eclipse for us, it's going to be approximately three in the afternoon,” Klimek said.
