By Matt Clevenger
For Miami Valley Today
TROY — Members of the Stillwater Stargazers Club will discuss the science behind the upcoming solar eclipse, and how to safely view it, during a special Eclipse Education Workshop hosted by the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center on Saturday, March 16.
The Eclipse Education Workshop will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and will be an open house-style event with several activities in different areas of the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center.
Stillwater Stargazers Club members Mike and Judy Feinstein will deliver a presentation on the mechanics of how the eclipse happens, and how to view the event safely, while eclipse videos will be shown in the Solarium. Crafts will also be offered in the East Room, including how to make a safe pinhole viewer, and a solar viewing telescope will be available outside, weather permitting.
“We have teamed up with the Stillwater Stargazers,” Troy-Hayner Cultural Center Music and Marketing Manager Terrilynn Meece said. “The first floor will be an open house, and you can come anytime from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and catch all the different things going on.”
Admission to the Eclipse Education Workshop is free, and no registration is required.
“We’ll have all of the supplies,” Meece said. “We’ll also be giving away free eclipse glasses.”
The upcoming eclipse will occur on Monday, April 8, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The eclipse will be a total eclipse, Feinstein said, and totality will occur at approximately 3:10 p.m.
“This type of eclipse can occur twice a year, but will be seen at a different location on Earth each time,” Feinstein said. “The sky, if it is clear, will darken to dusk; at totality you can safely view the corona of the sun when the moon totally blocks the sun’s normal round face.”
“The horizons will appear as if evening is near,” he said. “The temperature along the path of totality will cool by about seven degrees Fahrenheit. Totality will last about three and a half minutes.”
This type of eclipse was last viewable in Ohio in 1806.
“Use eclipse glasses made specifically for this event,” Feinstein said. “Do not combine them with any other viewing items that magnify like binoculars, telescopes or cameras.”
“It is safe to look at the sun during totality, but children should be monitored,” he said. “Since the eye does not feel pain, damage to the eye is likely if the bright solar disc of the sun is viewed before or after totality, without solar-safe techniques.”
The eclipse can be viewed from Troy and any area within 50 miles along the path of totality, Feinstein said.
“In the Miami County parks, Lost Creek and Stillwater Prairie Reserves have the best horizons,” he said.
The Stillwater Stargazers Club was formed by local enthusiasts in the 1980s, Feinstein said. The club meets at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. Meetings are open to the public; joining the club is welcomed but not required.
More information can be found online at www.troyhayner.org or www.stillwaterstargazers.com.
