Schools across North Carolina are closed on this spring Monday for a partial solar eclipse. It happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun at just the right time to cast a shadow on a portion of the Earth’s surface. In the case of Monday’s eclipse, North Carolina is not in the path of a total eclipse, so much of the state will see a partial block of the visible face of the sun.
Meteorologists warn to only attempt to view the eclipse using glasses designed for that purpose. Prime viewing from the central part of the state should be beginning at 2pm and lasting through 4:30pm, with a peak around 3:12pm.
In August of 2017 a total eclipse was visible from North Carolina. This time, a total eclipse will only be visible through parts of Texas and then northeast across the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys and reach New York during the mid-afternoon.
“If we have clear skies on the day of the eclipse, an incredible view of the Sun’s corona will be seen during the few minutes of totality,” reports the National Weather Service. “The Sun’s corona is normally not visible, except during a total solar eclipse. The corona is wispy, white streamers of plasma (charged gas) that radiate out from the surface of the sun.”
Closer to home, North Carolina’s own Krispy Kreme doughnuts is capitalizing on the event, selling “eclipse doughnuts,” a glazed confection filled with cream and topped with chocolate frosting and an Oreo, positioned to partially block a dollop of white whipped cream.
“Eclipses are rare and so is our out-of-this-world Total Solar Eclipse Doughnut,” said Dave Skena, Global Chief Brand Officer for Krispy Kreme. “Even if you can’t be in the path of totality you can get in the path of these treats, which you will eat in totality.”
Krispy Kreme, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and founded in Winston-Salem, has a history of special treats to celebrate space. In 1969, the glazed doughnuts were served at the launch viewing site of NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission to the moon. In 2021, the brand created a strawberry Mars doughnut for NASA’s Perseverance Rover landing. In 2022, they gave away doughnuts to celebrate astronomers releasing the first-ever image of a supermassive black hole, saying the Artemis I flight images looked like a doughnut.