County may see portion of total solar eclipse

On Monday, April 8, the second solar eclipse in a year will cross North America — a total solar eclipse much like the one that was experienced in this area back in August of 2017, it has been reported.

Jackson County residents who still have their eclipse-viewing glasses stashed away from that event — or even a pair purchased to watch the annular solar eclipse that could be viewed this past October — can use those glasses to view the upcoming eclipse, even though the county won’t be in the path of totality like it was during the 2017 eclipse.

Banner Creek Science Center and Observatory will open at noon on Monday for local eclipse-viewing, and special viewing glasses will be sold for $2 each. There is no charge to visit the science center, but free-will donations will be accepted.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, completely blocking the face of the sun and causing a brief, night-like effect, known as totality, for those located within the 115-mile-wide path of totality across parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada where the eclipse can be seen at its most intense.

Jackson County will experience 85 percent totality during the eclipse, which, in this area, will begin at about 12:40 p.m. and grow until its expected peak between 1:50 p.m. and 1:55 p.m., then begin to shrink and end at about 3:10 p.m.

That won’t be quite as dramatic as what was experienced on Aug. 21, 2017, at Jackson Heights High School, which was just inside the path of full totality for that day’s solar eclipse. Instead, it may be more like the partial annular solar eclipse as it was viewed in this area last October with the county experiencing about 65 percent totality.