The Dark Side of the Sun

By Gordon Hopkins The last time a total solar eclipse was visible from these here United States was in 2017. It was my second year with the paper and, because Fairbury was in the path of totality, it was a big deal around these parts.I went and bought a pair of those special glasses for looking at the sun without setting fire to your retinas. I also bought a special filter to put over the lens of my camera. By which I mean, my niece's camera, which I was borrowing at the time. I don't think she would have been thrilled to know I was pointing her expensive camera directly at the sun, even with a filter, so don't tell her. I remember standing outside in the parking lot as the sky went dark. The photos I got weren't great but I still got a bit of a thrill out of it. That was back when I was still an enthusiastic (50+ year old) cub reporter and not the cynical, jaded shell of a man who writes these words today.Not everyone will get to see the total eclipse but every part of the U.S. will get to see at least a partial eclipse. The path of totality, as it is called, will cross 15 states. Alas, Nebrask is not one of those.While we in Nebraska won't get to see the full eclipse when the next one happens on Monday, a partial eclipse will still be visible from here, unless the weather has other plans. Right now, the weather forecast says ‘partly cloudy,’ so it's a roll of the dice.I have seen a number of news reports of unhappy ‘eclipse tourists,’ or whatever you want to call them, who traveled a long way to see the biggest shadow on Earth, only to learn their view may be spoiled by cloud cover. The unpredictable nature of weather, um, predictions, is the reason I wouldn't make a trip just to see a total eclipse.Or, to put it another way, I ain't going to no eclipse. The eclipse can come to me.Of course, if you really want to see an eclipse, albeit a partial eclipse, and be sure your view won't be obstructed by clouds, there is one place I know of that offers just such a guarantee.Mars.Yes, it turned out Mars also gets to experience the occasional eclipse. Of course, Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos, are too small to fully blot out the sun, but it is still quite a sight.And best of all, if you do take the trip to Mars, you wont have to deal with all the crowds like you would here on Earth. On the entire planet Mars, there are few other tourists, and they are all robots, so you don't have to worry about standing in line at the restroom.NASA recently released video of the Perseverance Mars rover capturing the image of Phobos, which looks less like a celestial body and more like a potato chip, as it passed in front of the sun.That high-tech camera has a special, high-tech filter. So remember, even on Mars, you gotta have those special glasses if you wanna watch the eclipse.

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