Okay, here’s my blog post about figuring out the eclipse time in North Carolina:
So, I got really into this whole eclipse thing. I mean, who wouldn’t be? It’s a freakin’ eclipse! But, living in North Carolina, I needed to know the exact time it would be happening here. Not some general time, the precise moment.
First, I did what everyone does – I Googled it. “Eclipse time North Carolina,” simple enough, right? Well, I got a bunch of websites, some looked kinda sketchy, others were way too scientific for my brain.
I clicked on a few, and they started throwing around terms like “totality,” “partial eclipse,” “peak time”… I just wanted to know when to look up! It felt like I needed a degree in astrophysics just to understand this stuff.
Then I had a sort of plan. I decided to look for big cities near me. Like, if I knew the time in Raleigh, that’d be close enough, I guess. It might be different, in my place with a few minutes of delay, I am no astronomer.
So, I got that time finally. I mean, it wasn’t perfect. It was a range, like “peak viewing between 2:55 PM and 3:15 PM.” Better than nothing, I thought.
Then, I finally found one website that was actually helpful! I could put in my zip code, and it would give me the exact time for my location. Boom! That’s what I was looking for! I was a bit off of my earlier plan, I didn’t expect that at all.
I learned something else. There’s difference of time between beginning, peak and end. I need these three times.
What I learned and put into practice
- Find a reliable source: Don’t just trust any website. Look for ones that seem official, maybe from an observatory or a science museum, or I don’t know, NASA.
- Be specific: Don’t just search for “eclipse time.” Include your location (“North Carolina” or, even better, your city or zip code).
- There are 3 times to watch: Beginning, Peak and End.
It took a bit of digging, but I finally got the info I needed. Now, I’m ready for the eclipse – lawn chair, special glasses, and all! I’m such an expert now!
