Eclipse of the Sun Coming in 2 Weeks! And Another in 7 Years!

The path from top left to bottom right is the Aug. 21, 2017 eclipse

The path from bottom left to top right is the Apr. 8, 2014 eclipse

In just two weeks, on August 21, all of North America will experience an eclipse of the Sun. The eclipse will be total on a narrow path going across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. The rest of the continents will see a partial eclipse, with a big bite taken out of the Sun by the disk of the Moon.

If you don't get to see this one, there will be another U.S. total eclipse in only seven years (on April 8, 2024.) If you missed out getting a hotel room or a campground in the zone of totality for August's eclipse, you have no excuse now for 2024! (See the attached map; click on it to see it bigger.)

I've had the opportunity to do quite a bit of media outreach for the eclipse; you can:
1. hear me as part of the eclipse special on the "Big Picture Science" radio show: http://www.bigpicturescience.org/…/eclipsing-all-other-shows
2. see me speaking on the eclipse at the SkeptiCAL convention sponsored by the Bay Area Skeptics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52k9TdQdPNc
3. read my comments as part of legendary science journalist David Perlman's last science article (David, who covered science news at the San Francisco Chronicle, is retiring at the age of 99! May we all have a career as long and respected as his.): http://www.sfchronicle.com/…/Total-solar-eclipse-to-create-…

This week many media and people are waking up to the coming of the eclipse at last. Our free 8-page booklet all about it and how to view it safely can be downloaded from the page: http://nsta.org/solarscience Do read through it to get hints about how best to see and explain this rare sky phenomenon.

A free app, called TOTALITY, can be downloaded from both the Apple and Android app stores, and it will tell you exactly when and how the eclipse will be visible in your location.

If you haven't yet gotten safe eclipse-viewing glasses, your first stop should be your local public library. (Thanks to the Moore Foundation and Google, our project to distribute 2.1 million eclipse glasses has gotten glasses to almost 7,000 public libraries nationwide.)

If your library doesn't have any, here is a page to tell you all the reliable sources of eclipse glasses that are certified to meet the standards for protecting your eyes set by eye-doctors: https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters

And for kids, please forgive me if I mention our children's book, "When the Sun Goes Dark," now in its fourth printing. Copies have temporarily run out in some places, but the publisher has it at: http://nsta.org/eclipse

Here is wishing you clear skies for August 21.

Eclipse stamp issued by the US Postal Service

changes the picture you see when you touch it

Two Million Free Eclipse Glasses through Libraries (and a Free Booklet)

As you may know, there will be a rare eclipse of the Sun on August 21, 2017, and it will be visible throughout the United States. A spectacular TOTAL eclipse will be seen on a narrow path (about 70 miles wide) from Oregon to South Carolina. The rest of the U.S. and North America will see a PARTIAL eclipse, where only a part (but a substantial part) of the Sun is covered by the Moon. To look at the Sun when part of it is showing, special (but not expensive) glasses are required or you could damage the sensitive tissue in your eyes.

Millions of people will need glasses on August 21, and for the last year I have been grappling with the issue of how to get glasses to as many people as possible. Now, I am delighted to tell you that several astronomy colleagues and I have been able to get funding for glasses to be distributed through public libraries nationwide.

Thanks to the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation near San Francisco and Google, two million safe eclipse glasses will be made available through public libraries. Each library will get a supply of glasses to share free of charge and a booklet all about the eclipse and how to explain it to the public. The booklet, which I wrote with my colleague Dennis Schatz, is now ready and can be downloaded free at:

http://www.starnetlibraries.org/EclipseGuide/

The first part of the booklet explains all about eclipses, the August eclipse and when and how it will be visible in different parts of the country, and how to observe it safely. It's written for beginners in science, so we hope everyone can benefit from it. The second part consists of information to help librarians plan public programs around the eclipse.

You could do your city or town a big favor by taking the booklet or just its web address in to your local library and encouraging them to participate in the eclipse and the glasses giveaway. Libraries can register for the program (through the STARNet Library Network at the Space Science Institute) at the website: http://www.starnetlibraries.org/2017eclipse/

If, for some reason, your library can't participate in the program, there is information in the booklet on how to get eclipse glasses from the companies that manufacture the certified safe glasses that will protect you and your family's eyes. This spring is the time to make plans for where you will be and what you will do when the eclipse arrives on August 21.