Hawai‘i residents to get a peek of solar eclipse

LIHU‘E — Get your solar filters out, not the kind that protects your skin, but your eyes. The first solar eclipse of 2013 will be visible for Hawai‘i residents starting at about 2:20 p.m. today.

The Kaua‘i Educational Association for Science and Astronomy will be hosting a viewing at the Pacific Missile Range Facility this afternoon.

“Anyone with access to the base can come out to the observatory today,” said Roz Reiner, association director at KEASA.

The moon will slide across the sun, and at the peak of the eclipse, the moon will take a “bite” out the sun, covering 30 to 40 percent of it, Reiner said. At about 5 p.m. it will be all over.

Reiner said KEASA will have a solar scope set up at PMRF, especially fitted with solar filters, and sunglasses with appropriate solar filters. But there is also a special treat.

“We’ll have a solar scope attached to a camera, and we’re going to project it into a big screen,” she said.

For those not able to make it to PMRF in Kaua‘i’s Westside this afternoon, but still want to see the eclipse, Reiner is asking for caution.

“Do not look at the sun, even with (regular) sun glasses — there could be permanent eye damage, including blindness,” she said.

Even if only a part of the sun is visible, there could be permanent damage to the eyes, according to Reiner.

“It cannot be stressed enough that it is never safe to view a partial solar eclipse without appropriate eye protection,” she said.

Hawai‘i is the only state in the United States that will get a peek of the solar eclipse,

In Australia, Eastern Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Gilbert Islands will have a much better view of the eclipse, according to NASA website.

∫ Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.