Get your eclipse glasses at Snell Library!

Eclipse glassesOn August 21, the earth’s moon passes in front of the sun and parts of the United States will experience a total eclipse for the first time since 1979. Here in Boston, we’re not in the “path of totality”–we’ll see just a partial eclipse. The sun will only be 63% covered by the moon and we won’t experience the midday darkness. More importantly, we won’t be able to look directly at the eclipse because so much of the sun will be exposed–it will be dangerous to look directly at sun’s rays behind the moon. How can you view the eclipse safely? If you have a pinhole camera, which you can make with a cardboard box, a digital SLR camera with a pinhole cap,  or even two sheets of paper,  you’ll be able to see the partially eclipsed sun as a crescent-shaped gleam projected onto a surface opposite the pinhole. You can also take pictures with a cell phone or digital camera (use a solar filter to avoid heat damage to the camera) as long as you don’t look directly at the sun while you’re doing it. And if you do want to look at the eclipse with your eyes, eclipse glasses will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at Snell Library on Monday beginning at noon or you can attend the events hosted by the NU Physics Department or Boston Public Library

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