Talks on August's "All-American" Eclipse of the Sun and How To View it Safely July 8 at the Cupertino Library July 13 at the Menlo Park Library
Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi will give two free, non-technical, family-oriented talks on "Getting Ready for the All-American Eclipse of the Sun in August." Fraknoi, the author of a new children's book on eclipses, When the Sun Goes Dark, will describe how eclipses work, why they are one of nature's most spectacular sights, exactly when and where the eclipse of 2017 will be visible, and how to observe the eclipse and the Sun safely. At the conclusion of each program, everyone attending will receive a pair of safe viewing glasses for observing the Sun. There will also be a book signing for When the Sun Goes Dark afterwards. Talk 1 will be on Saturday July 8th at 3 pm, at the Cupertino Library, at 10800 Torre Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014. For more information, see: http://sccl.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=85253 For a map, go to: https://www.sccl.org/Locations/Cupertino/Getting-There Talk 2 will be on Thursday, July 13th at 7 pm at the Menlo Park Library, at 800 Alma St., Menlo Park, CA 94025. For more information, see: http://menlopark.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=3408 For a map, go to: http://menlopark.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/Menlo-Park-Library-25 Like the book, the discussion will be appropriate for children 10 years of age or older, and adults. On Monday, August 21, 2017, there will be an eclipse of the Sun visible throughout the U.S. and all of North America. People in a narrow path from Oregon to South Carolina will see a spectacular total eclipse, with the Moon briefly covering the Sun completely, and day turning into night. Everyone else (an estimated 500 million people, including all of us in the Bay Area) will see a partial eclipse, where the Moon covers a good part of the Sun. Special glasses or viewing techniques are needed to look at the Sun safely during a partial eclipse (sunglasses are NOT enough). Andrew Fraknoi is the chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College and the former Executive Director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. He serves on the 2017 Eclipse Task Force of the American Astronomical Society, training teachers and librarians to act as guides for the public as the August eclipse approaches. Fraknoi appears regularly on local and national radio, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language, and was the California Professor of the Year in 2007. He is also a fiction writer, and two of his short stories have been published in science fiction anthologies. The International Astronomical Union has named Asteroid 4859 Asteroid Fraknoi to honor his contributions to the public understanding of science. Andrew Fraknoi's illustrated book, When the Sun Goes Dark, is a fun way for young astronomers to find out all about this sky event and future ones. (The next one over the U.S. will be in 2024.) The story suggests some easy activities that children and adults can do together to learn the science behind eclipses of the Sun and Moon.
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