By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A partial solar eclipse occurs around midday Saturday, but central and northern Illinois will not have the best view.

“Our angle of view is only going to cover up the sun about sixty percent at most just a little before noon” Central time, says John Martin, an associate professor of astronomy and physics at University of Illinois Springfield, where he is also director of the observatory.

Martin says you may want to make travel plans for southern Illinois, as many did not that long ago. “I’m looking at this partial eclipse as an opportunity to remind people that we have a bigger one coming up in April, and that’s going to be a total solar eclipse.

While Americans have not been to the moon in a half-century, Martin says he does not believe interest in space has waned. In fact, “the Artemis II mission is coming up at the end of next year,” he says, “and I’d be willing to bet after that, we’ll see a lot more kids dressing up as astronauts for Halloween.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]