| THE COLONY NEWS | APRIL 2024 | 15 | THE COLONY NEWS | APRIL 2024 | 15
In Memoriam
Dennis Appalhans
Ray Santana
Victor Spindler
By Mike Vergara, 951-473-5806
Ah, spring! The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing,
and this year the sun is eclipsing!
For the second time in less than a year, this month
there will be a solar eclipse. This time it is a total eclipse,
whose path traces from Texas up through the Northeast.
Here in Murrieta, we will only have a partial eclipse,
however.
As I said in October, please please please do not look
directly at the sun. Use eclipse glasses, or a shadow
projection device, or some other safe method. The
American Astronomical Society has suggestions for safe
viewing at https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety.
On Monday, April 8, the moon will first start to cover the
sun at 10:05 am. By 11:12 am, approximately 60% of the
sun will be obscured by the moon. This is the moment
of maximum coverage here in The Colony. By 12:24 pm
it will be over.
Like for the October 2023 eclipse, there is a wealth
of additional information available about this eclipse
available at https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/
future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/, and https://www.
greatamericaneclipse.com/.
Due to an injury, I don't think I will be able to set up
my solar telescope at the Clubhouse for this eclipse. I
am also not aware of any local astronomy clubs' plans
for public viewing. On a personal note, because of this
injury, I may miss a month or two of these articles. It's
difficult to type one-handed!
To find where the planets and constellations are, visit
http://skymaps.com/index.html. From there you can
print your own map of the sky for the month.
Clear skies!
april Night Sky april Night Sky
