credit: Luc Viatour / www.Lucnix.be
On Monday, August 21st, 2017, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible to people in a roughly 70-miles path across the country.
If you can travel to somewhere that will experience totality, you should. Here’s some information on the solar eclipse and where to view it in the Carolinas. The closest spots to the Triangle will be the southern North Carolina mountains or the South Carolina upstate.
But if you can’t travel to the path of totality, consider attending the Solar Eclipse Celebration at Duke Gardens. Duke Gardens will be hosting a free drop-in program on Monday, August 21st, 2017, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
There will be a limited number of free solar eclipse viewing glasses.
Parking is $2/hour in Duke Gardens lots.
Inside the Doris Duke Center there will be experiments, crafts, a live stream of the total eclipse, and other activities to explore astronomy and Earth sciences.
There will be activities for all ages, from toddler to adult.
At Duke Gardens, the August 21 eclipse will begin at 1:15 p.m. and end at 4:05 p.m. At its peak (2:44 p.m.), 93% of the sun will be covered by the moon.
To look at any portion of the partial eclipse, you must use special-purpose “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers. To be safe, the viewer must meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for these products. Read more about eye safety at eclipse.aas.org.
