On Monday, a total solar eclipse will be visible across a swath of the U.S. that encompasses 15 states.
It will take about four hours for the shadow of the moon to cross the country, according to astronomers. While the path of totality — where the sky will be its darkest — is only about 115 miles wide, some degree of a partial eclipse will be visible in all of the contiguous 48 states.
Everyone from NASA to high school science departments plan to study the event, conducting experiments and collecting data.
And, if you miss this one, you won’t have a chance to see another one in the U.S. until Aug. 22, 2044.
So, who knew, amid all the hoopla, there was a dress code?
If you are planning to view the solar eclipse, and you want to conduct an experiment of your own, you can do so simply with your choice of clothing.
What should you choose to wear? Reds and greens will do the trick.
Why?
Chalk it up to the Purkinje effect.
Czech physiologist Jan Evangelista Purkinje, who lived from 1787 to 1869, found that as light intensity decreases, red or yellow objects are perceived to fade faster than blue or green objects of the same brightness.
When the eclipse begins, colors will begin to look different. So, if you want to conduct your own eclipse experiment, dress in something that has red and green on it.
As the eclipse gets to your area and the moon begins to overtake the sun in the sky, watch for how the colors you are wearing react.
According to the Detroit Free Press, if you can get a large group to wear one color and another large group to wear the other, you will be able to see a dramatic difference in how a change in light changes the way color is perceived.
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