DARTMOUTH – The Physics Department at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth will hold a solar eclipse viewing party Aug. 21 at the university Observatory, the university announced Tuesday.
Weather permitting, attendees of the event – which is free and open to the public – can visit the observatory from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. to catch a glimpse of the eclipse which will reach a peak in the south coast area around 2:45 p.m.
The Department will provide free eclipse viewing glasses to visitors and will have faculty on hand to answer questions and explain the science of the solar phenomenon.
“The total eclipse path is a transcontinental strip around 60 miles wide stretching from Oregon to South Carolina,” said Alan Hirshfeld, physics professor and director of the UMass Dartmouth Observatory. “The previous total solar eclipse over the continental U.S. was in 1979, over the Pacific Northwest, and the next one in 2024.”
“Around here, the sun will be about 65 percent eclipsed at maximum,” Hirshfeld said. “Viewers must wear eye protection at all times when looking at the partially eclipsed sun.”
Kyle Borowski is a PBN contributing writer.
