HOUSTON – With an event as big as the moon passing in front of the sun, there are sure to be some myths lurking in the shadows.
How to watch: Special coverage of Monday’s ‘Great Texas Eclipse’ from KPRC
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From claims that food made during a solar eclipse will be poisoned to whether or not it’s safe to watch an eclipse if you’re pregnant - there is no shortage of rumors and myths making their way around social media.
Let’s get to the bottom of these things you might be hearing about or reading.
First, let’s understand what a solar eclipse is.
This is how NASA explains what a solar eclipse is:
“A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth that either fully or partially blocks the Sun’s light in some areas. This only happens occasionally, because the Moon doesn’t orbit in the exact same plane as the Sun and Earth do. The time when they are aligned is known as eclipse season, which happens twice a year.”
Now that we understand what a solar eclipse is, it’s time to get to the bottom of some things making their way around the internet.
1. A total solar eclipse can produce harmful rays that will cause blindness.
MYTH - According to NASA, “when the disk of the moon fully covers the sun, the brilliant corona emits only electromagnetic radiation.” In other words, being a million times fainter than the light from the sun itself, it’s simply not powerful enough to cause blindness.
However, if you plan on looking at the sun during a total solar eclipse, you will need to wear protective eyewear.
2. If you’re pregnant, don’t watch a solar eclipse because it will hurt your baby.
MYTH - Again, a total solar eclipse doesn’t produce harmful radiation. NASA says, “Although the electromagnetic radiation from the corona, seen as light, is perfectly safe, there is another form of radiation that travels to Earth from the sun.”
3. The moon turns black during a total solar eclipse.
MYTH - There’s this thing called “Earthshine” that actually makes the moon look black during a total solar eclipse. The folks at NASA can explain it better: “Most of Earth’s surface is actually in broad daylight off the path of totality, and from the moon it would be in full phase, shining down on the lunar surface at its brightest. So, during a total solar eclipse, the lunar surface will be dimly seen due to earthshine, surrounded by the much more brilliant corona of the sun!”
4. It will get colder during a solar eclipse.
TRUE - This actually happens. According to NASA, you could see a temperature drop of up to 10° Fahrenheit. However, this depends on cloud cover and humidity.
5. Food made during a solar eclipse will be poisoned by the sun.
MYTH - This one (while outrageous) is also false. There aren’t any harmful solar rays emitted during a total solar eclipse that will harm your food. Actually, if this were true, all the food in your pantry would be bad, too.
If you get sick eating food during a solar eclipse watch party, don’t hold the sun accountable. Maybe it’s whoever made the meal. (Just saying)
6. There’s a solar eclipse? Something bad is about to happen...
MYTH - We’re going to let NASA address this one... “A classic case of what psychologists call Confirmation Bias is that we tend to remember all the occasions when two things happened together, but forget all of the other times when they did not. This gives us a biased view of causes and effects that we remember easily, because the human brain is predisposed to looking for, and remembering, patterns that can be used as survival rules-of-thumb. Total solar eclipses are not often recorded in the historical record, but they do tend to be recorded when they coincide with other historical events.”
7. There’s no such thing as a total solar eclipse at the North or South Pole.
MYTH - The North and South Poles on Earth have the same chance of seeing a total solar eclipse than we do right here in Houston! Actually, the last time the North Pole saw a total solar eclipse was March 20, 2015 and the South Pole saw a total solar eclipse on November 23, 2003.
