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April 3, 2024 20 mins
This coming Monday April 8th, a total solar eclipse will blanket parts of New England in a special astronomical spectacle. The celestial occurrence will not happen again for another 20 years. So, what is a total solar eclipse? Where is the eclipse’s path of totality and how can you witness it? Andrew Fraknoi, Professor of Astronomy at the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco joined Dan to discuss.
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(00:00):
You're on night Side with Dan Rayon WBZ, Boston's news radio. All
right, welcome back. I amdelighted to welcome to the WBZ microphones doctor
Andrew Fracknoyuh. He is a formerwell he is, he's a professor emitor

(00:22):
emeritus, I should say, chairof the professor of Astronomy at the Front
Institute at the University of San Francisco, and Professor Franknoy. I know.
We we adjusted the schedule a littlebit tonight. First of all, thank
you for being that flexiblee. Andas I understand it, you used to
you used to listen to WBZ inBoston. Tell us about it. That's
right. When I went to college, I remember w b Z fondly.

(00:46):
So it's nice to be back withthis radio steation. Well, it's wonderful
as well. Did you go tothat college across the river from us.
I'm sorry to say I did.Yes. Yes, No, I'm proud
to say I did. I knowI'm only teasing. Both of my kids
are as well. So yeah,no, I As you may or may

(01:07):
not remember, but WBZ is rightacross the river from Cambridge, at the
lower end of the Charles River orthe upper end of the Charles River,
however you want to call it.So we got a big celestial event coming
up, a solar eclipse, andyou know a heck of a lot more
about this than I do. There'sa number of questions I have. How

(01:30):
frequent are these eclipses? Everybody wantsto see it, and I know that
it's only going to be a certainlittle strip of America where we will have
full solar eclipse. So, firstof all, how rare is it that
we in America had access to afull solar eclipse? Well, it's interesting.
The last one was not that longago, was twenty seventeen, but

(01:53):
the next total eclipse across the UnitedStates will be in twenty forty five.
So many people are trying to seethis one because it's going to be a
while now. It would seem tome that something like this, and I'm
not an astronomer, obviously you are, it would seem to me that these

(02:14):
should come by with some regularity.It seems that the whole solar system kind
of works on almost like a clocklikebasis. We make a revolution around the
Sun once a year, and theEarth rotates on its axis every twenty four
hours. And I know there's alittle bit of adjustments there. Why is
there such a disparity between these solareclipses in the US, Well, this

(02:37):
is a wonderful question. So we'reused to the way of thinking about the
Solar system like a clockwork, likea rhythm that repeats, and the same
is true for eclipses. It's eclipseseason every six months, but the eclipse
only goes over a relatively short distancecompared to the huge area of the Earth

(02:58):
as a planet. And so itmay well be that there's an eclipse somewhere
on Earth every six months, somekind of eclipse, but it won't come
to the United States that frequently.Most of the Earth surfaces water, so
most of the eclipses happen over water. So it isn't exactly that the eclipses
don't happen so often, but theydon't come our way as often as we'd

(03:21):
like. Yeah. Now I realizedthat our land mass, we're a portion
of one continent. And I think, if I recall, I think that
water covers about eighty percent of theEarth. But it's just as interesting that
that that that this this disparity.So I think that most of us realize

(03:43):
that basically, the Moon will blockfor a period of time the Sun,
and it only affects a sort ofa strip of the United States in terms
of a full solar eclipse. Sothat's right. So all, let me
tell you the basics. Yep,let me fill everybody in on the basics,
because it's really an interesting story.It turns out to be a total

(04:05):
coincidence that the moon has seen fromEarth, which is much smaller but closer
to us, is the same sizein the sky as the Sun, which
is bigger but much further away.We now know that this is not true
on any other planet. If youlook for Mars, the moons of Mars

(04:26):
are not the same size in thesky as the Sun. So we should
congratulate WBZ listeners on being born onthe right planet. Here on Earth,
and only on Earth, the Mooncan exactly cover the Sun. And that's
what's going to happen next Monday,April eighth, as you said, in
a strip starting in western Mexico andgoing across Texas and then Indiana and the

(04:49):
Midwest and up into New England ina strip about one hundred miles wide.
If you're there, you'll see theMoon completely cover the Sun. Where else
in North America, we'll see theMoon take a big bite out of the
Sun, which we call a partialeclipse. Well, you know, it's
it's funny now that you mentioned thatwe're very lucky to have been born on

(05:11):
a planet Earth. None of ushad much choice in that. But without
getting at all theological, because Inever get theological with a scientist, and
you're you're a scientists. As anastronomer, you almost wonder if somehow someone
out there didn't plan it this way, that all of us, all eight
billion of us, every few yearswould have a chance to see this magnificent

(05:35):
thing in the sky that's going tohappen. So let's talk about safety.
A lot of people are are goingto be tempted to look at the catch
a glimpse of the solar eclipse.That's dangerous, right, all right,
So let's first of all, justmake sure everybody knows that in Boston it's

(05:59):
going to be a pretty big bitetaken out of the Sun. About ninety
three percent of the Sun's diameter willbe covered by the Moon at the maximum,
which will be around three point thirtyon April eighth, and so they'll
be as you said this temptation totake a quick look at it. But
even with a ninety three percent ofthe sun covered, it's still dangerous because

(06:23):
the Sun's brilliance is so intense thatyou can hurt your eyes. So I
should say that there are special eclipseglasses that you can get. We had
a project where the More Foundation fundedsix million eclipse glasses, which we are
being distributed through thirteen thousand public librariesaround the country. We astronomer are very

(06:46):
proud of that. That's a reallynice thing that we tried to do for
the public. But many of thoseglasses are gone. Many museums and planetariums
and college bookstores probably still have someeclipse glasses if you want to go wrap
them. But if you don't havethese eclipse glasses, sunglasses are not okay.
It's not okay to look with yournaked eye. So how can you

(07:09):
get a glimpse of this interesting skyspectacle? And I have a funny suggestion,
use a calender. Now you're probablythinking, why did I have this
guy on? He's crazy? Exactly, I think it's a brilliant suggestion.
Ah, you understand me. Great, So here's the deal. A calender

(07:30):
is something you wash pasta and saladin and it's got lots of holes in
it, and each of those holescan act like a pinhole projector. So
here's how you do it. Youstand with your back to the sun on
Monday, you hold the calendar overyour shoulder, and you cast a shadow
of the calendar on the sidewalk.If you look at that shadow, every

(07:51):
hole in the calender is going toshow you an image of the eclipse sun.
And as the eclipse gets greater,you'll see more and more of the
sun cover in each of those calendarshadow pictures. And if you're standing on
the sidewalk with a calendar over yourshoulder for a long period of time,
some neighbors are going to come overand ask if you're all right, and
then you can show them the eclipseand be the hero of your neighborhood.

(08:15):
That is a great idea and agreat suggestion. Let me ask you,
really, but it probably sounds likea dumb question. And that is in
different parts of the world that arenot as advanced as we are and do
not have the communications and the astronomerslike yourself who can caution us and tell

(08:37):
us don't do this. I'm assumingthat in some parts of the world there
must be many people who lack theknowledge that you've just shared with us,
and they're tempted to look up atwhat's going on. Have there ever been
any studies done which have shown that, you know, in this country or
that country, you know, somany hundreds or thousands of people have either

(09:00):
lost their vision or jeopardize their visionbecause of a solar eclipse. Well,
it's interesting you point to a reallyinteresting reason why there are eclipse myths from
ancient times. It's precisely because peoplewho knew about eclipses, and we've known
about eclipses for thousands of years,they wanted to have some way of warning

(09:22):
the public. So there, forexample, there are many Asian countries where
the myth is that there's a giantdragon eating the sun. And so if
what you need to do is tofrighten the dragon, you need to go
indoors, get your pots and pants, come back out, and make a
lot of noise to frighten the dragon, and then the dragon will stop eating

(09:43):
the sun. And you know what, it always worked. The dragon let
go and the sun came back.And so this was part of the set
of stories that people told to makesure that people understood what was happening,
that there was a danger in thesky that you might not want to look
at it. But overall, youknow, most people are pretty smart and

(10:05):
they protect themselves because it hurts tolook at the sun, even with half
of it eclipsed. It hurts youreyes, so most of us look away
pretty quickly. And it's the rareperson who gets so interested that they don't
react to the pain and actually hurttheir eyes permanently. My guest is Professor
Andrew Franknoy. He is at theuniversity. He's taught for many years at

(10:30):
the University of San Francisco, andhe is now Emeritis Chair of the Astronomy
Department. I hope I got thatright, Professor, mean, did I
either miss overstate under well, I'mnow teaching. I'm now teaching at the
EGS San Francisco. I'm emeritis chairsomewhere else, but it doesn't matter.

(10:50):
I'm delighted to be with you,Okay. So I'm going to open up
the lines and see if folks wantto ask some questions. Feel free to
join the conversation. Six seven,two, five, four, ten,
thirty, triple eight nine to nineten thirty or six one seven ninety three
one ten thirty. We had theexpert, uh, and it is not

(11:11):
I So feel free to direct yourquestions or comments to the professor. Feel
free to join the conversation. Let'sget the lines going. Come on back
on Nightside right after this. You'reon Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ,
Boston's news radio. I'm delighted tobe joined by Professor Andrew Frecknoy.

(11:33):
Uh. He's out in San Franciscoand he did teach at the University of
Southern California. He taught at anotheruniversity as well. I just was looking
at your very impressive bio. Youwere born in Hungary and came to this
country in nineteen fifty six, andI think you you were not able to

(11:56):
speak English coming from Hungary. Iwas in I've been in BUDAPESTI and was
interested to find out that Buddha Pesteis almost two different cities, Buddha on
one side of the Danube and Peshiaand the other. Uh. If I
know what year I was born,and if this is correct, you were

(12:16):
born the same year as I,my friend, I'm wonder what your birth
month is. Just for curiosity.I believe in these sort of silicity questions.
You mean, what what is mysign my astrological side? No,
no, no, I'm just Iwas born in July. I'm just wondering
if perchance I was born in August. Actually, I didn't speak English when

(12:39):
I came to the United States,and I actually used science fiction as a
way of learning, first using comicbooks and then simple books and science fiction,
and that got me all interested inastronomy. And that's how I got
to be on your program. Well, learning English through science fiction, that
did it. Yeah, Well,we graduated from high school in the same

(13:00):
year. You went to the BronxHigh School of Science. I went to
Boston Latin School and you went acrossthe river. And I did my college
at Boston State College and then wenton and had earned a law degree at
Boston University Law School, and ourgraduation years are exactly the same. As
I'm reading your early life and education. It's an amazing igeriance that you had

(13:22):
coming to this country, and yourability to adapt is amazing. We got
some questions for you, So let'sgo to college. You know, we're
heard in thirty eight states, asyou may know, so Let's don't be
surprised where these questions are coming infrom. We're going to go to Pete
in South Carolina. Pete, youare on with Professor Andrew Frackno, I

(13:43):
go right ahead. Pete. HeyDan, good to talk to you again.
Professor. I live in South Carolina. I have a friend of mine
who lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She's going to get full fatality.
What am I going to get?Well? So this is a question that
a lot of our business might have. How can I find out what the

(14:03):
eclipse is going to be like inmy community? And I have an answer
for you and for everybody. There'sa wonderful website called Time and Date dot
com. So the words all writtenout together, Time and Date dot com
and they have an eclipse page whichwill become obvious when you go there,
and you can pick any eclipse,including the one that's coming Monday, April

(14:26):
eighth, And when you get tothe page for that eclipse, you can
put in your community in the littlebox at the top right, and it
will then tell you exactly what's happeningin any community, no matter how small.
You can put in your community willtell you when the eclipse begins when
it will be maximum, how muchof the sun will be covered when it's

(14:48):
over, and it'll do it inlocal time. Many nerdy websites give it
to you in universal time, whichis complicated. But this day, this
website time and date will give youall the information you need in everyday language.
So I've been recommending that to mystudents and to everyone. That's where
you go to find out the localcircumstances. Well, that is very helpful

(15:13):
for me, professor, and Iappreciate it. And Dan, as you
know, we're the same day.Yes, we are anyway, professor,
Thank you very much. I'm notsure Peter, if we're the same year
though, I think I'm a yearolder. Okay that then, okay,
I know you you were born thena day before O. J. Simpson

(15:35):
or no, yeah, yeah,you were born a day before O.
J. Simpson. Actually you canlook it up. Okay, you anyway,
Thank you, and I'll talk toyou soon. Let me go next
to Rick in the state of Pennsylvania. Rick, you were on with Professor
Andrew. Go right ahead, Hi, Dan, and Professor. I'm taking

(16:00):
Monday off. I live in CentralPA. We're going to drive west to
get closer to the black band.And I'm wondering how safe these glasses are
that they're selling everywhere. I havebought five pair. They're only three dollars,
and how safe are these things?One time I've heard people using welders

(16:26):
shields to look at the eclips.Now we're looking at three dollars plastic glasses.
Great, right, So this isa great question, and let's make
sure everybody understands normal welders glass isnot Okay, if you're using welders glass,
it has to be number fourteen ora higher number. Okay, that's

(16:47):
really important. But how do youtell whether your glasses are legitimate? What
you want to do is you wantto look at the backside of your glasses
and see if it says on thebackside that it conforms to an ISO standard.
There's an ISO organization that sets thingssafety for eyes and optical things,

(17:08):
and it should say on the backthat it conforms to an ISO standard.
If it says that, and ifit hasn't been damaged or crinkled or punctured,
then those those cheap paper glasses areactually quite good. They're made up
out of a plastic material that cutsout that intensity of the sun that I

(17:29):
talked about and makes the sun safeto look at. So make sure that
if you have those glasses, youput them on tightly. With kids,
it's often good to put a rubberband behind it so that doesn't fall off
for them. But if they havean ISO standard, they should be pretty
good glasses. Oh thank you.I just didn't want to have us.
You have to have to hire adriver. Got a sound all damage our

(17:52):
eyes? How far? How farwest are you going to drive? Rick?
I think that Indiana, you're goingto be pretty good. Yeah,
we're going to go around eighty anddrive west two hours and that's not that
you get us. I don't wantto drive any further than that. I
want to say something else to allour listeners about that. Thirty two million

(18:15):
people already live in the zone wherethere's going to be a total eclipse,
and many millions of people live withinan hour's drive, so expect that right
around the time of the eclipse there'sgoing to be enormous traffic jams. We
expect some of the town's smaller townson the total eclipse path to double in

(18:38):
population. So whatever you plan todo on Monday, do it early.
It's even better to go Sunday night. They are expecting very bad traffic jams
just before and just after the eclipse. If you go, make sure you
have enough water with you, thatyou fill up your gas tank early and
before you have to get to theeclipse zone. Make sure we have toys

(19:00):
for the kids and sunblocks. Planahead, please, because it may be
that in the total eclip zone therewill be huge crowds on Monday. Sounds
great, Hey, Rick, thankyou very much. I owe you a
phone call. I think you're allset on what we've talked about privately,
correct I think so, Dan,Thank you, that's what they tell me.

(19:22):
I've talked to you tomorrow. ThanksRick, appreciate it you. Professor
Franknoy. This has been a delightful, I mean a delightful conversation and I
can't thank you enough for adjusting yourtime. And I really wish you well
the next time in San Francisco.I'm going to give you a call.
My daughter lives out there and shewent to your under your undergraduate school,

(19:45):
so well, let me wish allyour listeners clear skies on Monday. That's
a big factor as well. Thankyou so much, Professor I really enjoyed
it. Thank you, bad youbet okay, thank you so much.
When we come back, we aregoing to talk about the solar clips I
would love to hear, or whatyour plans are. Are you traveling,
like Rick? Are you going?Are are you gonna take advantage? It's

(20:07):
gonna be a long time before wehave another one, at least this like
a what's called the full eclipse.You have the number six one, seven,
two, five, four ten thirtysix one, seven, nine,
three, ten thirty. Let's fillup those lines and let's talk about eclipse.
We don't solo eclipse. We won'thave too many more chances to do
that after Monday, that's for sure.
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