Here’s how solar power will handle the eclipse

The West Kentucky 4-H Camp in Dawson Springs is in the direct path of a total solar eclipse that will occur August 21.

As the moon’s shadow passes along the USA, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) says that the southwestern state will lose up to 70 megawatts a minute – up to three times more of a loss than is experienced in an average day.

Temperatures will drop rapidly as the moon completely covers the sun.

If you were hoping to watch this month’s total solar eclipse, you probably know sunglasses aren’t going to cut it.

For anyone viewing the eclipse, the only safe way to observe it directly is by using special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers.

Our eyes are too sensitive and fragile for us to stare at the sun safely – eclipse or not.

Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, Ph.D., a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, has treated patients who have lost vision to the sun. A situational-awareness viewer can also be deployed, incorporating Waze alerts, road closures and local law enforcement and fire station locations into data about the eclipse’s totality path and duration.

If viewing through a telescope, you have to have the proper filter on it for safe viewing.

Dr. John Heltsley, optometrist with Heltsley Eye Care, said in a news release that solar retinopathy could occur without any sensation of pain because the retina doesn’t have pain receptors, and the injury could be temporary or permanent.

Manufacturers are cranking out millions of safety glasses for the upcoming solar eclipse. Any unscrupulous vendor can sell you glasses that they claim are eclipse-safe.

For many, the coast-to-coast total eclipse will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. The insight on distributed and rooftop solar photovoltaic resources, which are less visible to operators, may be especially useful, NERC noted.

Columbia, S.C., has the longest totality on the East Coast for a metro area, at 2 minutes and 36 seconds. Also, there will be hands-on activities, a sun dial display and planetarium shows in the SciDome Theater focused on the sun, moon and eclipses.

There is one exception to this rule. Those within theses states – the zone of totality – will enter complete darkness for around three minutes. It occurs when the moon entirely blocks the sun’s bright face. “State leaders are predicting one million people coming into the path”, Wickes says.

It is being called the “Great American Solar Eclipse” because it will be seen across the entire continental U.S. As indicated by the rapid depletion of eclipse-viewing glasses in Aurora, I would guess the library events will be well-attended and with a limited supply of glasses.

In Las Vegas, a partial eclipse will be observable, beginning at 9:09 a.m.

Griffith Park Outdoorsy meetup Mountain Chicks are hosting a Solar Eclipse Hike from the Fern Dell Nature Trail up to the Observatory, a 2.5-mile round trip.

The filter protects the imaging sensor on cameras and optical devices as well as your eyes.