LEHMAN TWP. — Northeast Pennsylvania will not be in the direct path of the solar eclipse, but that will not prevent Penn State Wilkes-Barre from highlighting the rare occurrence with a Solar Eclipse Experience event.
“We will not be in the direct path of the eclipse’s totality,” said Violet Mager, an assistant physics professor at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
The free event will tap into an opportunity to learn about the astrological event of when the moon’s rotation passes between the earth, Mager said.
The Solar Eclipse Experience will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, at the Academic Commons, also known as the library, Mager said.
The free event will offer children’s activities such as coloring and drawing contests with the prize of a free admission to Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s Summer 2018 camp up for grabs, she said.
Also, attendees can view the solar eclipse safely through a specialized solar telescope and make pin-hole cameras used to see the occurrence, Mager, the event organizer, said.
Mager advises the public not to view the solar eclipse with the naked eye.
“The sun is so bright, it would hurt your eyes,” she said. “The sun’s ultraviolet light is so strong it would cause damage to eyes and possibly cause blindness.”
The direct path of the moon’s shadow during the total solar eclipse will pass south of the commonwealth, she said, adding northeast Pennsylvania will still have a “great view” of the event, weather pending.
The total solar eclipse path is a 70-mile-wide 3,000-mile long route that will start in Oregon about 10:15 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time and pass southeast over Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, Mager said.
Pennsylvanians will be exposed to a partial solar eclipse, Mager said. “We will not be in the darkest part of the shadow.”
To share the rare event, Mager hopes to set up a livestream connection with other scientists in different parts of the country.
“The last total solar eclipse happened in 1994,” Mager said. “The next solar eclipse in America is predicted for 2024.”
