Eclipse Schedule

On the morning of June 30, early risers in most of the U.S. and Canada, weather permitting, may see at least a partial solar eclipse. The path of totality (i.e., the ground covered by the tip of the moon's pointed shadow) will start in northeastern Nebraska, where the sun will be blotted out by the moon just as it rises. A little later, at 5:08 a.m., C.S.T., the shadow will sweep at 3,000 m.p.h. over Minneapolis, where totality will last 1 min. 10 sec. Then it will cross Lake Superior and head for Labrador, just grazing the southern end of Hudson Bay (see map).

For a few seconds before totality, the bright crescent of the sun may be broken into separate sparks by irregularities on the surface of the moon. These "Daily's beads" do not always appear.

Away from the path of totality, the sun will seem to shine almost as brightly as usual, but if it is looked at through a dense filter (smoked glass or an overexposed photographic negative), it will show a bite taken out of its disk. At St. Louis the moon will cover a maximum 85% of the sun's surface, at New York 74%, at Columbia, S.C. 65%. Total time between the beginning and the end of the unusual show will be about two hours.

Camera fans can shoot the eclipse without much trouble. According to New York's Hayden Planetarium, the total eclipse can be shot with fast black and white film using a one-second exposure and f/4.5. Color film calls for one second and f/2. These settings will show the horizon faintly as well as silhouettes of nearby objects. The partial eclipse requires a filter (Kodak neutral density 4.0), 1/100 seconds and f/16 for black and white film.

The next total eclipse in the U.S. will come on Oct. 2, 1959, and it will be visible as total only in southern New England. On March 7, 1970, the moon's shadow will cross southern Florida. The New York area will not see a total eclipse until April 8, 2024.

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