On Monday, April 8, the United States will have the opportunity to witness a solar eclipse. This solar eclipse is the last solar eclipse that will be visible to the contiguous United States until August of 2044. The Craig County Public Library said that it believes everyone should have the opportunity to safely enjoy the event.
Craig County has been in the path of two eclipses within the last six months. The first eclipse just so happened to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Annual Craig County Fall Festival. The Craig County Public Library handed out free solar eclipse glasses to numerous festival-goers. “Many people were unaware an eclipse was visible that day,” said Michaela Crawford, Craig County Public Library’s program coordinator. The solar glasses were made available by a new NASA-funded program, “Eclipse Ambassadors Off the Path,” and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
In late January, Crawford was accepted into the NASA partnered Eclipse Ambassador program. “As an Eclipse Ambassador, I am responsible for completing a three-week training course, partnering with an undergraduate or an amateur astronomer, and providing solar eclipse and safe solar viewing education to at least 200 individuals before the April 8 eclipse. The program was such an amazing opportunity for our library and our community,” explained Crawford. Crawford completed the program and is now one of only eight NASA partnered Eclipse Ambassadors in the state of Virginia.
“The program offers free educational materials and solar glasses for distribution throughout the community,” said Crawford. The opportunity to witness a solar eclipse is truly a rare event, so to be sure you are enjoying the eclipse safely, Crawford advised. She offered some advice in regard to safe viewing and what one should expect to see during the solar eclipse.
“During the solar eclipse, you may be tempted to look directly at the sun without eye protection, but doing so can cause permanent eye damage even if you only looked at the sun for a few seconds. However, there are several ways to protect your eyes when viewing a solar eclipse, but first what exactly is a solar eclipse, what should you expect to see, and why do we need eye protection if the Sun is covered?” she said.
“A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the Sun’s light and the resulting shadow is cast on Earth. Simply put, the moon’s orbit positions it occasionally over the Sun causing a total (the moon covers the entire Sun temporarily blocking out all sunlight) or partial (only a portion of the moon covers the Sun) eclipse. The April 8 eclipse is a total solar eclipse for several states in the United States (Ohio, New York, Kentucky, and 10 more states) however, Craig County will experience a partial solar eclipse, which means there will not be a point during the eclipse where the entire Sun is completely covered by the Moon. Craig County can expect to see approximately 87% of the Sun to be covered by the Moon at the maximum point of the solar eclipse. Because the Sun will still be visible is is vital to wear proper eye protection,” Crawford explained.
“To ensure your eye safety it is recommended you wear glasses with special-purpose solar filters or solar eclipse glasses. It is not safe to view a solar eclipse directly without any eye protection, with regular sunglasses (even if you think they are super dark), with a Welder’s helmet, or behind a lens such as a camera, phone, binoculars, or telescope without special filters. There are necessary steps to take to ensure your solar glasses will provide the required protection in order to avoid eye injury. Before looking directly at the Sun, be sure to inspect your eclipse glasses. They should be free from scratches, dents, holes, or any other visible damage. If you believe your glasses are in any way damaged, throw your glasses away and do not attempt to use them. Remember to check your children’s glasses as well! You may want to practice how to safely use the glasses with your children prior to the eclipse. It is also important to read any directions on the side of glasses to understand their recommended use,” she said.
The Craig County Public Library will distribute free solar eclipse glasses to all Craig County Public Schools students and staff, the Craig County Childcare Center students and staff and community members. The library advised that parents should keep in mind that their child may have received glasses from school when requesting glasses for their family. Several families have already received their free solar glasses during a recent Craig County Public Library STEAM event.
“Community members were invited to join us at Lemon and Vale to make cereal box solar viewers. The cereal box solar viewers are another safe viewing method for the eclipse as the Sun is viewed indirectly and through a pinhole projector. The cereal box solar viewers are fast and easy to make and most people will already have the supplies already at home,” she said.
The library has one solar eclipse event under their belt, but Crawford’s goal is for every community member to safely view and enjoy the upcoming eclipse. Those who would like more information in regard to obtaining eclipse glasses and/or eclipse education can contact the Craig County Public Library via phone (540) 864-8978 or email [email protected].
Eclipse timing:
Partial Solar Eclipse, Craig County, April 8
Time when the eclipse starts: 1:57 p.m.
Time of maximum eclipse: 3:15 p.m.
What is the maximum percentage of Sun eclipsed: 87%
Time when the eclipse ends: 4:29 p.m.
-Craig County Public Library
