How to watch the solar eclipse in Petaluma

On Monday morning, Aug. 21, Petaluma residents who’ve done a bit of pre-planning will have the rare opportunity to witness a truly rare celestial event – a nearly total eclipse of the sun. According to projections provided by NASA, North Bay sky-watchers will experience 76 percent coverage when the moon makes its way across the sun.

California lies outside the eclipse’s “path of totality,” a region where the sun will be fully eclipsed by the moon for several minutes, the first time a total eclipse will be visible from the contiguous U.S. in 38 years. The 155-minute event will begin at 9:01 a.m., with maximum coverage taking place at 10:15. By 11:36, the show will be over.

Astronomers around the county say that, if a few important safety precautions a followed, even a partial eclipse should treat sky-watching residents to a rare and reasonably spectacular show.

Even fully eclipsed, the sun can pose serious dangers to anyone looking at it for any length of time. To protect yourself from severe eye-damage, specially designed “eclipse glasses” are necessary when directly observing the eclipse. A number of local retailers and organizations have been selling or distributing the glasses for the last several weeks. High demand, however, has made the glasses a very hot item.

“We’ve been cleaned out for a week or more,” said Ron Pearson, of Shutterbug Camera in Petaluma. “Other retailers have been calling us for days, asking if we have any. Demand has been just immense.”

Lowe’s Home Improvement, in Cotati, has also run out. The same is true of all Sonoma County libraries, which had been giving the glasses away since July 31.

Many 7-Eleven stores have been carrying the eclipse glasses – which are not the same as sunglasses or other recreational optical aids – but as of Wednesday morning, most of the stores in Petaluma had also run out. Only two stores out of six contacted reported that they still had the glasses for sale - the store at 2000 Lakeville Hwy., which was down to one final box, and the store at 860 Perry Ln., which reported a fair number of glasses still available.

For those lucky enough to score the hard-to-find item, any open area where the sun is visible will be good for eclipse-watching. Helen Putnam Park, which offers many wide open spaces, should be an especially good spot from which to observe the eclipse.

Meanwhile, Sonoma Clean Power is warning local energy-users that, during the eclipse, solar power will be reduced in the area up to 70 percent across Sonoma County. To keep energy flowing to the grid, solar users are being asked to limit their power use as much as possible during the entire time of the eclipse.

(Email David at david.templeton@arguscourier.com.)