UC Davis geologists — students and faculty — are in celestial heaven!

First, a meteorite fell in Gold Country. A faculty member will give a talk on this topic, Sunday, May 20, in Coloma (El Dorado County), in the vicinity of ground zero.

That same day, we will be in a good position to see a solar eclipse — for which the Geology Club is selling special glasses.

The details:

• The Lotus Valley meteorite — Qing-Zhu Yin, associate professor and a Chancellor's Fellow, plans a general talk about what the meteorite (and others like it) could tell us about the origins of our solar system.

Yin

He also plans to talk about the search for pieces of the Lotus Valley meteorite: why scientists need a lot more, how to identify the general features of these carbonaceous chondrites in the field (with examples from the Lotus Valley fall) and how to handle samples.

His talk, free and open to the public, is scheduled from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Gold Trail Grange Hall, 319 Highway 49 within Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. Park for free next to Sutter's Mill just north of the Grange hall.

The public is invited to join Professor Yin at 6 p.m. to watch the eclipse.

• The annular solar eclipse — An annular eclipse is similar to a total eclipse in that the moon appears to pass centrally across the sun, but the moon is too small from our perspective to cover the sun completely. So, even in the best location, a rim of the sun will be visible around the moon.

The eclipse will begin about 6.20 p.m. Pacific daylight-saving time and last for about four minutes.

“Eclipses are like the birth of a baby — they come with much anticipation and excitement, but may require special equipment, are all different, and the differences are usually important,” UC Davis ophthalmologist Ivan Schwab said.

“This can be fun, but it does mean a bit of warning. It is never safe to view the sun partially eclipsed without protective eyewear,” Schwab said by e-mail.

Do not attempt to view the sun through pinhole glasses, regular sunglasses or other makeshift glasses, Schwab warned. “Don’t play with the potential of visual damage,” he said. For safety, he said, use eclipse glasses.

As it happens, the Geology Club is selling such glasses for $2 a pair, or three pairs for $5. Further discounts are available on bulk orders, Co-President Kevin Delano said. The club is not planning an eclipse-viewing event, but has these recommendations for optimal views: Redding, Chico and Lake Tahoe.

Hold onto those glasses for an astronomical event even more rare — the transit of Venus, across the sun, from our point of view, on Tuesday, June 5 (about 3:06 p.m. to 9:47 p.m., in Davis). The next transit of Venus will not occur until 2117.

For glasses, contact Savannah Lisle, sllisle@ucdavis.edu.

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