Today Is Eclipse Day – Monday, April 8th, 2024!

Above is a picture of my dad, John Boggs, viewing the beginning of the solar eclipse on August 2s1, 2017, using special protective coverings that the made himself for his binoculars.

Today is a day I’ve been waiting many years for!  It’s the day of the total solar eclipse that passes through where I currently live and grew up in Ohio!

My dad, John Boggs, was an amateur astronomer and was a longtime member of the Richland Astronomical Society that has a nice, big observatory in Richland County, Ohio, just off of Possum Run Road.  I was lucky enough to be able to witness much of the construction process of the observatory and it’s massive telescope back in the 1980s.  My dad sadly passed away in 2018, but before he passed, we were able to go on his last, great adventure together to Tennessee to personally witness the 2017 total solar eclipse that came through the area.  It really was an indescribably-wonderful experience, and I was so glad to be able to be with him for it.

Truth be told, I was honestly hoping and praying that my dad would be around for this eclipse in 2024 as well, but 2018 was his time to go home to the Lord.

He taught me a lot of good information about eclipses. 

• It is extremely important to protect your eyes during all parts of a solar eclipse when not in totality.  Even the tiniest dot of sun peeking from behind the moon can cause significant damage to your eyes.  This is why it is very important to use something like legitimate solar eclipse glasses to view any part of the non-totality portion of a solar eclipse.  Unfortunately, there are many fake solar eclipse glasses on the market currently that do not properly protect your eyes from the sun’s intense light.  You can only remove your protective eye covers to view the eclipse during totality, which is when there is no direct sunlight shining into your eyes.

• Bailey’s Beads are a special event during a solar eclipse where tiny dots of the sun peek through the topography of the moon’s uneven surface.  They resemble little beads of light.  Do not look at them directly without your eclipse glasses!

• Even animals will be reacting interestingly to the solar eclipse.  They will believe that it is a very quick onset of nighttime and react accordingly … and then suddenly get back into their daytime mood as totality comes to a conclusion.

• The area on the surface of the Earth where totality is experienced will also have streetlights come on due to the significant darkness of the area caused by the eclipse.

• A 360° sunset/sunrise effect will be visible during totality.  The entire horizon will look as if the sun is setting or rising due to distant areas around the region of totality still receiving light from the sun.

• During totality, the corona of the sun will be visible to the naked eye.  The corona is basically a plasma-filled, atmospheric layer of the sun that extends millions of miles/kilometers away from the sun’s surface.

• As the eclipse approaches totality, shadows become sharper due to the decreased, visible, surface area of the sun.  This can be perceived via shadows from nearby plants or even the hairs on your arm.

• Immediately before and after totality, there may be shadow bands visible dancing around that quickly alternate between dark and light.  The precise cause of these bands is not yet known to science; however, it is suspected that this is due to the same atmospheric effect that causes stars to twinkle.

If you can be somewhere within the path of totality today, I very strongly recommend that you take advantage of this rare opportunity!  In my personal opinion, total solar eclipses are an extraordinarily-beautiful event to witness in person!

I know that as I’m viewing the eclipse today, I will have the added experience of my dad’s spirit (accompanied by my mom’s spirit) right next to me enjoying the amazing moment.