SHREVEPORT – Members of the LSUS Department of Biological Sciences and the Shreveport-Bossier Astronomical Society will be hosting a daytime observation session Saturday during a solar eclipse.
Solar telescopes will be in place outside the science building to view the solar eclipse from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
“This is a partial eclipse that will cover about 70 percent of the sun,” said Dr. Cran Lucas, emeritus professor of biological sciences and president of SBAS. “The sun is increasing in activity on its way to solar max, and numerous sunspots may be visible.”
If clouds or rain obstruct the view of the eclipse, the event will be cancelled.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth.
While solar eclipses occur multiple times per year, they aren’t often visible in the United States.
Saturday’s eclipse is an appetizer to the one coming April 8, where the sun is expected to be 95 percent covered in Shreveport.
Areas as close as Tyler, Texas, will be in the “path of totality,” which means 100 percent coverage of the sun, during the April 8 eclipse.
“Eclipses will not be visible in the U.S. again for many years,” Lucas said.
Sunspots are magnetic storms visible on the sun. Because they are slightly cooler than the sun’s surrounding surface, they appear to be darker.
For more information, visit ShreveportAstronomy.com or contact Lucas at cranlucas@gmail.com.
