Solar Eclipse Early Dismissal Planned For Bensalem Schools
The Bensalem Township School District is joining others in the region to send students home early for Monday's solar eclipse. Bensalem, Bucks County, has decided to allow students to observe a partial solar eclipse on Monday, potentially reaching over 90 percent of totality. This will be a "deep partial" solar eclipse, where the sky will become noticeably darker and the sun's profile will be reduced to a slender crescent. This is the highest solar coverage the region has seen since Memorial Day weekend in 1984. The last significant partial non-annular eclipse was Aug. 21, 2017.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Dino Ciliberti in Science
The township joins several other school districts in Bucks County that are deciding to allow students the opportunity to watch the event with family and friends. The dismissal schedule is as follows:
During a total solar eclipse, the moon is positioned at just the correct distance to create a perspective where it is the same angular size as the Earth, and the moon appears to block the sun completely. On Monday, the area will experience a partial solar eclipse, perhaps reaching over 90 percent of totality. That makes this a “deep partial” solar eclipse, where the sky will get noticeably darker, brighter stars will be visible and the sun’s profile will be reduced to a slender crescent.
In Lower Bucks County, the moon will begin its path across the sun on Monday around 2 p.m. and will move from south to west for nearly two-and-a-half hours, until about 4:35 p.m. The mid-eclipse time — when the highest coverage will occur — will be around 3:25 p.m.
This is the greatest solar coverage the region has seen since Memorial Day weekend in 1984, which was at 95 percent. The last significant partial non-annular eclipse was Aug. 21, 2017, when coverage was at 80 percent.