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Atlanta, GA | Posted: August 15, 2017
Renay San Miguel
Communications Officer/Science Writer
College of Sciences
404-894-5209
Summary Sentence:
Here are some tips on protecting your eyes and enjoying the solar eclipse experience at Georgia Tech.
Full Summary:
The skies over Georgia Tech will be at 97 percent darkness during the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse. Watfching the spectacle will require special eclipse-viewin glasses, but you'll also want to notice the changes in the environment around you as the skies get darker during this rare celestial event.
Eclipse-safe eyewear (Photo by Maureen Rouhi)
Simulation of the moon’s shadow on Earth during an eclipse, as staged by Helping Planetariums Succeed (Photo by Renay San Miguel)
A simulation of a total solar eclipse as seen facing south from Georgia Tech, as staged by Helping Planetariums Succeed (Photo by Renay San Miguel)
It is expected to be the most-watched celestial event of the year: A total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, that will be visible across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina.
Georgia Tech isn’t on the path of 100 percent totality, but above campus, the moon will block 97 percent of the sun’s disk at approximately 2:37 p.m. EDT. The eclipse should darken skies, drop air temperatures, and make birds think it’s bedtime.
The sunlight from a partial eclipse is bright enough to injure unprotected eyes, says James Sowell, senior academic professional in the School of Physics, and director of the Georgia Tech Observatory.
“Even a sliver of sunlight, that three percent, could damage your eyes if you persist in looking at it directly,” he says.
The temptation to report to social media or record the event with mobile devices will be strong. We urge you instead to take in the experience. Those who have watched total eclipses say they are spectacular for how they make you feel.
“It humbles you,” says David Baron, science journalist and author of “American Eclipse,” about the total solar eclipse of July 29, 1878. Baron has witnessed five of these phenomena. “They are awe-inspiring and humbling, and they make you realize we are just a tiny part of something enormous.”
Here are three simple rules to safely and fully experience the 2017 solar sensation in an age of mobile devices:
