Solar eclipse is just 3 weeks away!
The 2 biggest questions I'm getting right now about the August 21st eclipse: 1. Should I travel to see it? 2. Do I need special glasses?
First, should I travel to see it? You don't have to. I published the path on my Facebook page this morning. You can see it here:
If you want to see the total eclipse, you DO have to travel to the black dot. If you stick around the Triangle, or Sandhills though, the view will still be pretty amazing. You will be able to see 90 percent or more of the sun blocked by the moon.
It will get dark around here too. Though it won't quite be night-time, I bet some street lights will come on. And from a weather geek standpoint, the drop in temps could be very dramatic. We may see temps drop up to 20+ degrees in spots! If you'd like to see what it will look like, check out my FB post here:
Second, you WILL need special glasses to look directly at it or you could permanently damage your eyes. Here is why: When you were a kid, you may have used a magnifying glass to focus sunlight on a leaf and get it to start smoking. It can happen in just a few seconds. Your eye is also a magnifying glass.
If you stare at the sun, you can focus the energy onto the retina of your eye and literally burn it. And because you don't have pain receptors there, it can happen without you even knowing it. Here's a great video put together by our web team explaining what you should look for when buying protective eyewear:
I mention this because if you want some glasses, you should get them now, instead of two weeks from now, when everybody is looking for them and they're sold out!
We will continue to send more info on Eclipse 2017 as we get closer. For more information, check out our eclipse section at abc11.com.
