Mr. Eclipse

If you wanta know . . . about total eclipses . . . who ya gonna call?

MR. ECLIPSE!

That's right, today's FamilyFirst site is the one, the only Mr. Eclipse.

Mr. Eclipse is an mysterious, enigmatic individual whose passion is, quite clearly, eclipses of both the solar and lunar variety. And even though much of the material here is dated around late 2004/early 2005, this site is still a tremendous resource for anyone who is into the phenomenon of one heavenly body blocking another from sight.

His personal love for eclipses goes back to 1970, when the famous total solar eclipse that appeared over the east coast of the USA. He shot some amazing photos of the event when he was in high school, and they are on display here.

Would you like to learn the basics of what makes an an eclipse? Then check out Solar Eclipses for Beginners. It's good scientific information written in layman's terms. It's a great starting point for those wondering what causes the spectacular shows.

Have you known someone who observed a partial solar eclipse through welder's goggles, or multiply-folded film negatives? Well, check out this warning:

Permanent eye damage can result from looking at the disk of the Sun directly, or through a camera viewfinder, or with binoculars or a telescope even when only a thin crescent of the Sun or Baily's Beads remain. The 1 percent of the Sun's surface still visible is about 10,000 times brighter than the full moon. Staring at the Sun under such circumstances is like using a magnifying glass to focus sunlight onto tinder. The retina is delicate and irreplaceable. There is little or nothing a retinal surgeon will be able to do to help you. Never look at the Sun outside of the total phase of an eclipse unless you have adequate protection.

He goes on to describe how to observe eclipses safely. While exhilarating to watch, eclipses certainly are NOT worth losing your precious eyesight.

So enjoy today's scientifically-oriented FamilyFirst site. Science can entertaining, and in the words of Bill Cosby, "Watch out, you just might learn something!"

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