Western Nevada College observatory to offer eclipse viewing

Submitted by paula on Tue, 08/08/2017 - 1:21pm
Event Date: 
August 21, 2017 (All day)

Don’t have the time or means to travel to the "path of totality" to view a total solar eclipse later this summer? The Jack C. Davis Observatory at Western Nevada College has you covered when the moon covers the sun on August 21.

Although the campus will be hundreds of miles south of the "path of totality" and will experience a partial eclipse, the public can get a better view of the solar eclipse on that Monday morning at the observatory on the Carson City campus.

The eclipse will start in the area at 9:04 a.m., the maximum will be at 10:19 a.m. and it will all be over at 11:42 a.m. The observatory will be open from 8:30 a.m. to noon to capture an event that last happened in the U.S. 26 years ago and hasn’t included a coast-to-coast pathway in 99 years.

The "path of totality" is the swath from South Carolina to Oregon where there will be a 100 percent eclipse and offers prime viewing locations in towns like Salem, Ore.; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Lincoln, Neb.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Charleston, S.C.. There they will be able to enjoy seeing the moon envelope the sun for more than 2 minutes.

“In Carson City, we won't be in the path of totality and we’ll only get about 80-ish percent coverage at maximum eclipse,” said Jack C. Davis Observatory Director Thomas Herring. “We'll still be watching our live view and streaming video from one or more sites that are in the path of totality on our big screens in the observatory.”

For attendees who want safe viewing of the eclipse, Herring will provide a few telescopes with appropriate filters, as well as access to the Sunspotter.
“Don't ever look directly at the sun without a proper filter during an eclipse,” Herring said.

Even if the weather turns overcast, Herring said the observatory will be open to “see whatever we can.”

The "path of totality" will enter the U.S. on the Oregon Coast and exit on the coast of South Carolina. It will take less than 2 hours for the entire swath of total eclipses to occur across the country.