Don’t Miss The Solar Eclipse – Monday, August 21, 2017

Ready to view the big eclipse? It takes place on Monday, August 21, 2017, don't miss it!

Viewing opportunities about throughout the United States, including the chance to see the extremely rare total eclipse. The total eclipse may only be viewed within a band, approximately 70 miles wide, that will sweep from the west coast of Oregon, down through the middle of the nation to the east cost of South Carolina.

Here in Lubbock, around 75 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon. The moon's travel across the face of the sun will begin at 11:30 a.m., and end at 2:26 p.m., with the peak eclipse coverage being at 12:57 p.m.

There are several viewing opportunities and gatherings for those staying in Lubbock, many providing eclipse viewing glasses, including the Solar Eclipse Viewing Party happening at the Science Spectrum, which is sponsored by KFYO. The Science Spectrum is located at 2579 S. Loop 289.

A solar eclipse party being held by the City of Lubbock at the Patterson Branch Library, located at 1836 Parkway Drive in Lubbock. More information is available here.

If you're up for a road trip to experience the total eclipse, then take this opportunity. It's very rare to have relatively close access to the total eclipse band, and viewing totality is a completely different experience than seeing an eclipse that is not total (even when 99% eclipsed). Here's an article about the stunning experience of totality. If travelling to see the total eclipse though, be ready for huge crowds and congestion, especially around highly populated areas. Lots of people travel from all over the world specifically for total solar eclipses.

There is more information about eclipses that a person could ever read, but here are a couple of great sites with lots of information:
https://www.space.com/33797-total-solar-eclipse-2017-guide.html
https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/

Safety first! - Be certain to guide your children, and NEVER look at the sun without approved filters, even when the sun is almost completely eclipsed. It only takes an instant for radiation from the sun to do irreversible damage to your (or your child's) vision.