Johnny Cash would sing about it, but this weekend, depending on where you are in the country, you might actually get to see the Ring of Fire solar eclipse, when the moon covers the sun.
"It leaves a little bit of a ring of fire around it," said Dr. Jean Creighton, director of UWM's Manfred Olson Planetarium.
The eclipse is set for Saturday around noon, but Dr. Creighton says Milwaukee or any place in Wisconsin will not be the place to see the ring on fire.
"We are not in that part of the country sadly, but we will see a chunk, about 41% of the sun will be gone."
But no matter where you watch it - you will need to wear solar eclipse glasses to protect your eyes. UWM will be handing out free glasses on Saturday if the weather holds.
"You need them because otherwise, the sunlight damages your eye," said Dr. Creighton @TheTable Wednesday night. "I'm told that doctors can tell from your eyes if you've been looking at this."
UWM is also preparing to celebrate 100 years of the invention of the planetarium. The Centennial Celebration is October 21 from 6-8 p.m.
The world's first planetarium was built in Germany.
"We want to acknowledge that people who live in urban places don't get to see much of a dark sky," said Dr Creighton. "So, planetarium is an opportunity to connect and enjoy that again."
Don't worry if you can't see the sky this Saturday. The next total eclipse is set for April 8, 2024.
Watch the full conversation in the video at the top of this article.
Charles Benson and Shannon Sims interview key people in our community during TMJ4's @TheTable segment weeknights at 10 p.m.
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