An event to eclipse all others

Who says Mondays are boring? This Monday, August 21, you can witness a rare solar eclipse…along with everyone else in North America.

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 8/19/17

Not making plans to view the solar eclipse next Monday because Rhode Island is not in the path of totality? That's kind of like not buying a lottery ticket unless the jackpot is over $100 million. …

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An event to eclipse all others

Who says Mondays are boring? This Monday, August 21, you can witness a rare solar eclipse…along with everyone else in North America.

Posted

Not making plans to view the solar eclipse next Monday because Rhode Island is not in the path of totality? That's kind of like not buying a lottery ticket unless the jackpot is over $100 million. Chances are, you could use $99 million…and a partial eclipse is a pretty cool sight to behold too.

It's a (near) once in a lifetime event — this will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States since Feb. 26, 1979. And it's been almost a century (since June 8, 1918) that a total eclipse was visible from coast to coast.

In Rhode Island, the magnitude of the eclipse will be .72 — that's the fraction of the diameter of the sun that will be covered by the moon. The partial eclipse will begin here 1:28 p.m. and end at 4 p.m. The largest extent of the eclipse will be visible at 2:47 p.m.

Protect yourself

You know you aren't supposed to stare at the sun…and that's true no matter how much of the sun is being eclipsed. Even a few seconds of staring at the sun can cause permanent damage to your retinas, and your eyesight. Experts from NASA and the American Astronomical Society have compiled lists of reputable vendors of glasses and filters: one useful resource is at eclipse.aas.org. If you are lucky enough to have welder's glasses on hand, NASA says they are safe, as long as your pair is rated 14 or higher.

According to NASA, you should NOT view the eclipse with sunglasses, color film, x-ray film, smoked glass, or floppy disks (if you can still find one!) None of these are safe for your eyes.


Where to watch

Here are some of the area's best eclipse-watching events…forecast at press time is for mostly sunny skies!

Barrington

The Barrington Recreation Department and The Astronomical Society of Southern New England (ASSNE) are co-hosting an afternoon of viewing the US 2017 Total Solar Eclipse on the Town Hall lawn from 1 to 4 p.m., weather permitting (fully, heavily overcast skies will not allow viewing of the eclipse). Adults and children (with an accompanying adult) are welcome to this rare, exciting event. ASSNE amateur astronomers will be on hand with specially filtered telescopes and solar glasses for safely viewing the eclipse.

Tiverton

Join the Tiverton library, 34 Roosevent Ave., from 2 to 4 p.m. to celebrate the eclipse with interactive activities such as decorating sun cookies, building solar ovens to cook s'mores, and creating safe solar eclipse viewers from recycled materials. Attendees who wish to create an eclipse viewer must bring their own cereal box or shoe box. Local volunteers from the Astronomical Society of Southern New England will be available during the event to talk about the eclipse and answer questions!
Solar Eclipse glasses will be available for attendees' use to view the eclipse safely. Maximum eclipse will take place at 2:45pm, but be sure to get there early to get yourself oriented. We'll be meeting on the lawn across the parking lot from the front of the library. In the case of poor weather conditions, we'll still have fun with solar eclipse activities inside the library, and stream live footage of the solar eclipse in the Community Room.
Can't make the event but still want to safely view the solar eclipse? The library has a limited supply of solar eclipse glasses that will be available for Tiverton residents. These glasses are available at the front desk on a first-come, first-served basis.

East Providence

East Providence public library, 41 Grove Ave., beginning at 1:30 p.m. Enjoy an eclipse viewing party with music, food trucks and eclipse viewing glasses for the first 400 attendees.

Providence

The Museum of Natural History in Roger Williams Park will be hosting eclipse related activities all day, including Reserved common area outside for safe viewing of the partial solar eclipse; total Solar Eclipse NASA TV MegaCast: Exclusive path of totality coverage; Solar Eclipse viewing glasses provided by NASA RI Space Grant Consortium; Safe solar telescopes; Special eclipse education activities; and a Special Planetarium Show at 1pm (there is no 2pm planetarium show on August 21).

Scituate

The Seagrave Memorial Observatory, at 47 Peep Toad Road in Scituate, will open to the public beginning at 1 p.m., allowing views of the eclipse through a telescope. The site will remain open until the eclipse ends at around 4 p.m.

Charlestown

The Frosty Drew Observatory in Charlestown is all set for the solar eclipse on Aug. 21. They're opening the campus at 10 a.m. The eclipse starts at 1:30 p.m., and they have plenty of gear, including eclipse shades, so people can watch safely. Solar telescopes in both white light and hydrogen alpha will be setup for observers to catch a view of the solar photosphere and chromosphere, including views of sunspots, prominence, and filaments on the Sun. They will have solar projectors setup showcasing projected views of the Sun as well as eclipse shades on hand for safe observing of the solar photosphere.

Newport

The Strange Attractor Theatre Company in collaboration with a community of citizens from across Rhode Island will be presenting The Sea Pageant at First Beach at 1:30 p.m. The Sea Pageant is a once-in-a-lifetime happening: a one-day-only, 100-person unison performance of movement, song, and celebration designed to honor the ocean and the phenomenon that is the solar eclipse.
In addition to movement and song, visual artists are also involved, preparing the sandy performance area in the morning before the afternoon event.  While there will be rehearsed pieces performed in unison, there will be moments and opportunity for observers and audience members to participate as well.  
The Sea Pageant will conclude with a picnic starting at 2:30pm, the totality of the eclipse. For more information, visit strangeattractor.org.

Eclipse

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