Solar Eclipse: Community viewing at the Los Alamos High School courtyard
Hosted by the Los Alamos Public Schools in a community wide collaboration with Los Alamos County Recreation Division, Los Alamos County Library System, Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC), U.S. National Park Service staff from the Bandelier National Monuments and Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Pajarito Astronomers, Los Alamos MainStreet, Eye Associates and more!
Join community members of all ages to view the annular solar eclipse in the Los Alamos High School courtyard.
The event features free eclipse glasses, viewing safety information, projection of the eclipse on a large outdoor screen, National Park Service programming,
educational booths and science activities for all ages, school clubs, food vendors, music and more! All activities will pause between 10:15 am and 10:55 am
to allow participants to view the eclipse as it moves in and out of the annular phase with the maximum eclipse happening at 10:36:57 am.
Los Alamos lies within the 125-mile wide path of annularity. Our geographic location makes us a part of the select few—about 0.4 percent of the entire world population— who will be in the central path of the eclipse. The sun will appear as a perfect "ring of fire" when the moon passes directly between the earth and the sun.
(see more information about educational events and educational links below)
Booths at the event:
Los Alamos Public Library – free eclipse glasses
Los Alamos County Recreation Division - Viewing Screen
Pajarito Astronomers Club
Collier County Public Schools (Florida)
LAHS Astronomy Club
PEEC - IMAP Activities
National Park Service - Bandelier
National Park Service - Manhattan Project NHP
Los Alamos County Public Libraries - fun craft and library materials
Girl Scouts
Los Alamos Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol
Eye Associates of New Mexico
JROMC - Sun Spotter, Sun-Moon-Earth models, etc.
GO Bond Committee
LAHS DECA Club
LAHS Olions
Eclipse links:
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Solar Eclipse info from NASA: NASA: October 14th 2023 eclipse
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Solar Eclips info from Great American Eclipse: greatamericaneclipse.com/october-14-2023
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Eclipse viewing safety: NASA: eclipse safety
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NASA video Big Sun Little Moon: NASA video
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Eclipse map: Google map
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Eclipse info by retired NASA astrophysicist, Fred Espenak: https://eclipsewise.com/
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Weather predictions for eclipse sites: https://eclipsophile.com/
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American Astronomical Society: https://eclipse.aas.org/
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Eclipse cat coloring page: coloring page
Eclipse related community events and programs:
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NASA outreach with Charles Tatro at the Los Alamos Public Libraries on October 12th and 13th including free eclipse glass giveaways: NASA outreach at Mesa Public Library, NASA outreach White Rock branch library
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Annular Eclipse Preview w. Galen Gisler Fri, Oct 13, 2023, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PMLos Alamos Nature Center (PEEC): https://peecnature.org/events/details/?id=50043
Eclipse explained by Galen Gisler, eclipse event coordinator, retitred astrophysicist and PEEC volunteer.
Solar eclipses occur when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, casting its shadow upon the Earth. Since the Moon’s orbit is inclined relative to the Earth’s orbit, this alignment doesn’t occur at every new moon, but approximately every six months. When the Moon is closer to the Earth, its angular size is larger than the Sun’s, so it completely covers the Sun: this is a total solar eclipse. When the moon is farther from the Earth, it appears smaller and does not completely cover the Sun, leaving a ring (or annulus) of the Sun still uncovered: this is an annular solar eclipse. In total and annular solar eclipses, the path of the Moon’s shadow across the Earth is quite narrow, so that only a small fraction of the Earth will experience the full eclipse, while the rest will see only a partial eclipse. In fact any particular locality may wait several centuries between successive total or annular eclipses. On October 14th 2023 the path of annularity will cross New Mexico from the north west to the southeast. Los Alamos is near the edge, but within the path of annularity.
There will be an opportunity for the public to view the event together in the inner courtyard of the Los Alamos High School. The High School’s astronomy club will be hosting the event, and there will be participation from a number of community organizations including Los Alamos Public LIbrary, Los Alamos MainStreet, the National Park Service, PEEC, and others. There will be several telescopes with solar filters, projection onto a giant screen, a pair of SunSpotters, and eclipse glasses for everyone. Maximum eclipse is at 10:36am on that Saturday, but people will begin to gather at 8:30. Everything should be over by noon.