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Meteorologist explains impact of solar eclipse headed for CFB Week 7
By Rolando Rosa
Published:
The atmosphere is usually electric on SEC Saturdays but in Week 7 it should be paired with an interesting backdrop.
WeatherBrains host James Spann notes that an annular solar eclipse will occur on Oct. 14 while many college football contests are taking place.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND A SOLAR ECLIPSE: We have an interesting situation coming up one week from Saturday (October 14)… a solar eclipse will take place while many college football games are being played.
Alabama has a home game against Arkansas; kickoff is 11a CT. Here it will be… pic.twitter.com/BBs4gYfNLC
— James Spann (@spann) October 5, 2023
Spann uses the Arkansas at Alabama game as an example (12 p.m. EST/ESPN). He says during this contest, it will be a partial eclipse, and in the 2nd quarter 58 percent of the sun will be blocked out by the moon at 1:08 p.m. EST. Spann explains that the ~110 mile wide path of annularity is 729 miles southwest of Birmingham.
Spann implores the fans in attendance at Bryant-Denny Stadium to not look directly at the eclipse with the naked eye. In order to safely view it, you would need eclipse glasses. An annular solar eclipse happens when the moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than the sun’s, shielding most of the sun’s light and making the sun look like an annulus (ring).
Other games on the SEC slate for Week 7 include Georgia at Vanderbilt (12 p.m. EST/CBS), Texas A&M at Tennessee (3:30 p.m. EST/CBS), Florida at South Carolina (3:30 p.m. EST/SEC Network). Kickoff times for Missouri at Kentucky and Auburn at LSU have yet to be determined.
