On Friday, March 11 at 8:15 p.m., Hōkūlani Imaginarium will host the premiere of “Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon,” a computer-generated graphic and light show. It will feature the classic rock band Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album, which was one of the most popular amongst its fans and included hit songs like “Time,” “Money” and “Us and Them.”
The show will make the audience feel like it has left Earth and traveled to the moon thanks to the great effects displayed on the 360-degree full dome environment.
The show is especially timely as just three days prior the “dark side of the moon” will in fact slip in front of the sun. This phenomenon is called a partial solar eclipse. Starting at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, the moon will come between the sun and Earth. However, they won’t align in a perfectly straight line, and thus the moon will only partially cover the sun’s disc. By 5:36 p.m., the moon will cover about 70 percent of the sun and appear as though it has taken a bite out of it.
It is important to remember that a dense filter is necessary, such as “sun peeps,” during viewing to protect you from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Sunglasses are not sufficient.
The best view of the eclipse will be in Honolulu, for example Ala Moana Beach Park, because of its better view of the sunset and less cloud cover. If you wanted to go all out, you could travel to Indonesia where it will be a total solar eclipse.
Later this month, on March 22, there will be an opportunity to see a penumbral lunar eclipse. During this astronomical event, the earth’s shadow or penumbra will cover the moon making it slightly darker. This will start at 11:39 p.m., hit its max at 1:47 a.m. and end on March 23 at 4:54 a.m.
“It will be difficult to pick up, unless you know what you’re looking for,” said physics, astronomy and mathematics professor Joe Ciotti. “The earth’s shadow is very faint.”
The most epic of eclipses is a total solar eclipse. The last time one was seen in the contiguous U.S. was in 1979. The next one happens on August 21, 2017, and has been dubbed “The Great American Eclipse” as it will travel across the whole U.S. mainland, starting in Oregon and then hitting such locations as Wyoming, Tennessee and Georgia.
by Itzel Contreras Mendez, Ka ‘Ohana Staff Reporter
