Watch the Solar Eclipse in Liberty County
We’re in for a show in just over a week! On August 21, the entire country will have a front row view of a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s orbit crosses between the sun and the earth. The moon will block the light of the sun and create darkness on the Earth for everything that falls in the shadow. The path of the eclipse will be from the northwest corner of Oregon down to the southeast corner of South Carolina. A coast to coast solar eclipse hasn’t happened in the United States since 1918 and the next one won’t be until 2045! Gear up folks and get ready for a once in a lifetime experience!
Photo by John Henderson
Now in Liberty County we won’t experience the complete blackout of those in the path of the eclipse. We will however experience a pretty good bit of darkness as the moon will obscure 95.5% of the sun. Not sure what that looks like? Well, as the moon starts to cover the sun the light will fade and the atmosphere will be similar to twilight. Birds and squirrels will start to settle down thinking the day is ending and the air will be slightly cooler until we reach the maximum amount of darkness. Then everything will reverse and go back to normal! This will all begin just before 1:30pm and last until just after 4pm. The maximum obscurity, when the moon is covering the sun, will happen around 2:45pm for us here in Liberty County.
Type in your zip code here and this handy dandy simulation will give you an idea of how the light will change and what the eclipse will look like for us!
Photo by Jeff Jones
Now that you know all about the eclipse it’s time to prepare to watch it! Here’s what you need to do!
- You should be able to experience the eclipse pretty much anywhere in our community since we’re still pretty close, however, an open park like at Bryant Commons or one of the LCRD parks would be a great place to view it. There will be plenty of open space for everyone to see without trees or buildings obstructing your view.
- What’s a rare experience without someone to share it with; call your friends and family and share this twilight during the middle the day! Join Doodles Billiards for their eclipse party from 1-4pm! We could totally get down on jamming to “Total eclipse of the heart,” with a few moon pies and a Blue Moon brewsky!
- Be sure you’re protected! In order to see the eclipse, you have to stare at the sun and will need special viewing glasses to protect your eyes! Pick a pair up!
- Say a prayer we can avoid the “R” word. As we’re all too familiar with afternoon rain showers, we need all the good vibes we can get to avoid one on this particular afternoon! The solar eclipse will only be visible if the sky is clear, plus sitting outside in the rain is no fun for anyone!
So, if you can’t take the day off and travel the 100 miles you’d need to get to the path of total obscurity, make it a late lunch and hang around outside a little while for this rare celestial treat!
-Erin Johnson, Creative & Content Manager for the Liberty County CVB
The Right Blend Blog is written by two different authors employed by the Liberty County Chamber/CVB. As we are able, we rotate weeks and each writes about our individual experiences, opinions and let our writing reflect our personalities and creativity. All content provided on The Right Blend blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.
