It will be a rare sight to behold, and Mount Wilson Observatory is not going to miss it.
On April 8, there will be a solar eclipse and the folks at the observatory are inviting the public to come up to the site — 5715 feet above Pasadena — to watch and learn as the spectacle take place.
A caveat: Observatory representatives note that while the eclipse will be seen as total throughout most of North America, Los Angeles won’t be in the so-called “path of totality.”
But it’ll still be a sight.
“Residents here will still see a portion of the event; at its max, it will look like someone took a bite out of the sun with about two-thirds still visible,” according to observatory officials.
During the event — and weather permitting — Mount Wilson Observatory will stream the eclipse live to its Auditorium. It will be projected in hydrogen alpha, a filter which allows participants to see surface features on the sun.
The base of the150-foot solar tower telescope will also be open to see a live projection of the eclipse.
Things get going just after 10 a.m.
10:06 a.m. PDT – Eclipse begins
11:12 a.m. PDT – Eclipse is at its max (Moon covers 49% of sun’s area)
12:21 p.m. PDT – Eclipse ends
Tom Meneghini, director of telescope operations at Mount Wilson, is set to oversee the event with associate Richard Bell. They’ll offer commentary as the sun and the moon put on their show.
If you go, you won’t be alone in the nationwide gaze to watch the eclipse.
It promises to be a scientific bonanza, thanks to new spacecraft and telescopes — and cosmic chance.
The moon will be extra close to Earth, providing a long and intense period of darkness, and the sun should be more active with the potential for dramatic bursts of plasma. Then there’s totality’s densely populated corridor stretching from Mexico to the U.S. to Canada.
Hundreds if not thousands of the tens of millions of spectators will double as “citizen scientists,” helping NASA and other research groups better understand our planet and star.
One of Mount Wilson’s Interferometric Array telescopes in the foreground with the 60-inch telescope in the background on August 3, 2007, which has been instrumental in the modern understanding of the universe. With a total of six telescopes at the top of Mount Wilson, including a 101-inch one and a two solar ones, many people visit the location north of Pasadena yearly, including the likes of Edwin Powell Hubble (1889–1953), Albert Einstein (1879—1955) and most recently theoretical phycisist Stephen W. Hawking (1942-). (SGVN/Staff Photo by Raul Roa/SXCity)
They’ll photograph the sun’s outer crownlike atmosphere, or corona, as the moon passes between the sun and Earth, blotting out sunlight for up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds on April 8. They’ll observe the quieting of birds and other animals as midday darkness falls. They’ll also measure dropping temperatures, monitor clouds and use ham radios to gauge communication disruptions.
Another scientific bonus this time: The sun will be just a year away from its maximum solar activity, as opposed to 2017 when it was near its minimum. That means lots more action at the sun, possibly even a coronal mass ejection during the eclipse, with massive amounts of plasma and magnetic field blasted into space.
A few more things to know:
A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun.
The April 8 event will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.
You must wear specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing per these safety guidelines. Mount Wilson will have a limited number of solar glasses available.
The observatory’s Cosmic Café will be closed so representatives recommend bringing a picnic.
The museum and 100-inchtelescope viewing gallery will be open.
The observatory will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Parking is at the facility. You can get to Mount Wilson via the Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) from the 210 Freeway at La Canada Flintridge.
A U.S. Forest Service Adventure Pass is required to park at the observatory, as it is located on Forest Service land, according to the observatory’s website.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.