Three most asked questions about the solar eclipse

SYRACUSE, NY (WSYR-TV) – Tick-toc-tick-toc…Yes, the countdown continues to the total solar eclipse in central New York! The most popular questions about it are answered below…

The countdown to the solar eclipse is officially about 2 weeks away as of Monday afternoon and the 3 most common questions that have been coming in regarding the eclipse are…

1.) Where can I find or buy solar eclipse glasses?

Answer: Local drug/convenient stores and online, but make sure the ISO stamp of approval is on one of the arms of the glasses.

2.) What’s the difference between totality and not totality?

Answer: The difference is significant!

If you are watching not in totality it won’t get dark and the lighting change won’t be that noticeable. The colors of things outside will look kind of dingy and not sharp, similar to what the coloring is on Mars. You also will have to wear your solar eclipse glasses and or use a pinhole camera to view it throughout the entire event.

In totality, assuming the sky is clearer than not you will see the sky become almost dark with a purpleish hue across much of the sky above and a twilight, sunrise/sunset look to the entire horizon all around you.

You can see the sun’s atmosphere/corona and Bailey’s Beads, beads of light along the edges of the moon. You can take you eye protection off during totality for a short period of time 1 to about 3.5 minutes depending on where you watching the eclipse from.

Even if it’s cloudier it still gets quite dark but you won’t see the sun’s corona/atmosphere or Bailey’s Beads, beads of light on the edges of the moon.

3.) Should we be concerned about our pets and their safety?

Answer: We are not concerned about the pets looking at the sun out of curiosity because they aren’t aware of what’s going on like us humans, but if you are taking them to a solar eclipse event I’d keep your dog/pet very close as the number of people could stress them.