Wondering how to celebrate the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21?
There are several Champaign-Urbana events leading up to the eclipse that will educate and celebrate this rare and spectacular occasion. Special shoutout to the Champaign Public Library, which has been talking eclipse all summer long.
We’ve listed as many eclipse events as we could find that will be occurring over the next month in the Champaign-Urbana area. And if you know of any events not on this list, let us know!
More Information about the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse
- The best place to witness the eclipse is three hours south in the Carbondale area, where the eclipse is expected to be viewed the longest out of any other place on the path.
- NASA EDGE will join forces with the NASA Heliophysics Education Consortium, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and Lunt Solar Systems to air a 4 hour, 30-minute live webcast “Megacast” of the total solar eclipse from an area outside Saluki Stadium. Watch it online HERE.
- Want to go? The University of Illinois Department of Astronomy is sponsoring a day trip to Goreville, Illinois, which is in the total eclipse zone. For more information on that, click here. The CU Astronomical Society is planning a weekend trip to Camp Ondessonk in southern Illinois.
- Here in Champaign-Urbana, the eclipse will start at 11:53 a.m., when the moon starts to move in front of the sun. The maximum eclipse happens at 1:20 p.m. and the entire thing will be over at 2:44 p.m.
- In the Champaign-Urbana area, 93 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon which means people will see a thin “crescent sun” in the sky.
- The last eclipse of this kind in the country was in 1979 and the last coast-to-coast eclipse was on June 8, 1918. The 70-mile wide shadow of the moon will cross from Oregon, through southern Illinois, and on to South Carolina on Monday afternoon, completely covering the sun for 2 minutes, 39 seconds.
- Looking for educational resources about the eclipse? Teachers are the main audience for these guides put together by the University of Illinois Department of Astronomy.
- Proper safety equipment like special eclipse glasses must be used. This website talks about ways to safely view an eclipse. We’ve heard you can buy the glasses at Lowe’s, Walmart and Home Depot. A lot of online outlets are sold out!
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