North Dakota’s View Of The Upcoming Partial Solar Eclipse

Are you ready for a show in the sky?

A few times each year the sun, moon, and earth perform a cosmic lineup in outer space to produce an eclipse.

According to a press release from the Backyard Astronomer, we can expect our next solar event on Saturday, October 14th, 2023.

What can we expect from the eclipse living here in North Dakota?

Here's a map of who will have the best viewing of the solar eclipse across America.

The main path will trek from southern Oregon, extend through Nevada, Utah, clip northeast Arizona, New Mexico, and jet across southwest Texas.  People in this path will witness an annular eclipse of the sun.

The rest of us, including North Dakota will see a partial solar eclipse.

It looks like you will see somewhere between 50% to nearly a 60% solar eclipse in the Peace Garden State.

Now keep in mind you need to be careful when viewing a solar eclipse.  Don't run out and start thinking you can watch this with your naked eye, unlike a lunar eclipse.  Protective measures must be applied to prevent eye and camera damage.  Don't go out and ruin that new iPhone 15 of yours.

According to the Backyard Astronomer Gary Boyle, solar eclipses come in three different varieties.  Total, annular, and partial.

Gary goes on to say once again DO NOT look directly at the sun without protective means.  Unless you have a certified solar filter or a number 14 welder's glasses.  Does anybody know a good welder in BisMan? Ha!

Boyle also says you can safely see the eclipse by looking through household items like a vegetable strainer, spaghetti collider, or anything with small holes, even a Ritz cracker.  I don't know about you, but that sounds like a lot of work.

Photographers will need a Baader solar film or other solar filters or you could run the risk of melting your camera's CCD chip or your cell phone sensor (again, don't ruin that iPhone 15!)

When will we see this solar eclipse in North Dakota on Saturday, October 14th?

Looks like 9:17 a.m. Mountain Time for our Western listeners and at 10:17 a.m. Central Time here in the Bismarck, Mandan, and Lincoln areas.

Happy solar viewing and be safe.  It sounds like a lot of work.  I might just sleep in.

To find out more you can go to Gary Boyle's website.