On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, millions of Americans will witness one of the grandest spectacles in Nature: a total eclipse of the sun. As the moon passes directly in front of the sun, day will turn to night along a narrow swath of the country, beginning in Oregon and ending in South Carolina. In the Tampa Bay area, the sun will be about 80 percent eclipsed by the moon.
Safe eclipse viewing offered at SPC
The St. Petersburg College Planetarium will host an eclipse viewing (weather permitting) between 1:15 – 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21. Eclipse glasses and telescopes with solar filters will be available in the “quad” area of the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus, east of the Natural Science building, near the south entrance of the West St. Petersburg Library. The science building at the campus is accessible from 69th St. at 5th Ave N. Parking for the library is accessible from 67th St. at 9th Ave N.
Parking at SP/G is available adjacent to Eagle Lake, off 66th St. North; in front of the campus buildings along 5th Ave. North; and on both sides of 69th St. at 5th Avenue. The largest parking area, and probably the easiest place to find a parking space, is the lot west of 69th Street. Visitors can park in any unmarked spaces but not in spaces reserved for faculty or staff. Use this link to download a map of the campus showing parking and the event’s location.
The Tarpon Springs Campus also will host The Great American Eclipse event behind the library.
Events at both campuses are open to the public. See these tips for safely viewing the eclipse from any location.
Learn about the eclipse viewing from celestial St. Petersburg College expert
To prepare for and share insights about the upcoming eclipse, Planetarium Director Dr. Craig Joseph will also host several half-hour lectures on eclipses on Friday, Aug. 18. These FREE lectures are at:
- 7 p.m., 7:40 p.m., and 8:20 p.m.
- Room 232, Natural Science building
- St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus Planetarium
- Eclipse glasses will not be distributed at the lectures
The eclipse begins at 1:17 p.m. EDT, when the moon first touches the sun’s disk. Over the next hour and a half, more and more of the sun will be covered by the moon, with mid-eclipse occurring at 2:49 p.m. At that time, 84 percent of the sun will be blocked by the moon. The eclipse will end at 4:13 p.m.
According to NASA’s Total Eclipse website, the last time most Americans experienced a total solar eclipse was 1991. NASA estimates that 500 million people will be able to observe the August eclipse event, in partial or total form: 391 million in the U.S., 35 million in Canada, and 119 million in Mexico (plus Central America and parts of South America and northwestern Europe) .
Because only a portion of the sun will be covered, this unique event can be viewed, but only if special precautions are taken to reduce the sun’s brilliance to safe levels. The human retina is very sensitive to light, and the sun’s surface is so bright that looking directly at it, even for a few seconds, can damage retinal cells, perhaps permanently. Eclipse viewers will be available at the Planetarium event.
For additional information, contact the SPC planetarium at 341-4320.
SPC offers several classes and degrees in science, including a bachelor’s degree in biology, an associate in science degree in biotechnology laboratory technology and A.A. transfer plans to the University of South Florida.