Annular Solar Eclipse at Crater Lake

Date: May 17, 2012
Contact: Marsha McCabe, 541-594-3091

Crater Lake National Park will be hosting an astronomy event celebrating the Annular Solar Eclipse on Sunday, May 20^th , 2012 . Crater Lake lies just north of the "Ring of Fire" line, where the moon will pass directly in front of the sun, creating a partial annular eclipse. Weather permitting, visitors will see a not-quite-complete ring of sunlight around the fringes of the dark new moon.  Ranger Emily Prud'homme stated, "It will be an evening of two sunsets, with the sun emerging from behind the moon in time to turn our spring snow banks a pretty shade of pink before it retreats from view at the end of the day."

Visitors should be prepared for cool temperatures at the Crater Lake Rim; gloves, hat, a winter jacket, and warm shoes or boots will keep you comfortable while we watch this uncommon celestial event. Please keep in mind that it is extremely dangerous to look directly at the sun, especially during an eclipse-even a partial annular eclipse.  Sunglasses are NOT sufficient to protect your eyes from the solar radiation still present during these events. A Crater Lake Ranger will provide viewing glasses, provide instruction and materials to construct a pinhole camera, and demonstrate other methods for safe viewing of the eclipse.

Scheduled Events:
4:00 PM :  Introduction to the Annular Eclipse at the Crater Lake Lodge in Rim Village. Ranger Emily Prud'homme will describe how the earth, moon, and sun line up to create the eclipse, and will introduce other celestial events to look forward to in 2012.

5:08 PM :  Eclipse begins, viewing with solar glasses (provided free of charge) at Discovery Point, 1 mile west of Rim Village on West Rim Drive.

6:25 PM : Maximum eclipse from Crater Lake

8:27 PM : Sunset, sky tour and constellation viewing until 10:00 pm. Mars, Jupiter, and Venus currently grace our night skies; a ranger-provided telescope offers closer views of these three planets.

Please call the Steel Information Center, open 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM daily, for additional information at [phone].