Astronomer To Give Free Talk On Solar Eclipse

BERKELEY, CA — The retired chair of Foothill College's astronomy department will give a free, family-oriented, illustrated talk early next month in Berkeley on the coming solar eclipse, the professor announced Friday.

Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi will talk on Aug. 5 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the third-floor community room of the Berkeley Public Library at 2090 Kittredge St.

Fraknoi will describe how eclipses work, why they're one of nature's most spectacular sights, where and when the eclipse will be visible and how to see it safely.

At the end of the talk, everyone who attended will get a pair of eclipse-viewing glasses courtesy of Google.

The talk is appropriate for adults and children nine years old and older.

For the work Fraknoi's done to help people understand science, officials with the International Astronomical Union have given an asteroid his name.

The eclipse will occur on Aug. 21. It will be visible throughout the U.S. and North America.

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Residents and visitors in a narrow path from Oregon to South Carolina will experience a total solar eclipse, while people outside of the path, including people in the San Francisco Bay Area, will experience a partial eclipse.

A solar eclipse means that for a while the moon will block the sun's rays or some of the sun's rays, as in a partial eclipse.

Special glasses or viewing techniques must be used to view the eclipse safely.

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After the talk, Fraknoi will be signing copies of his new children's book on eclipses "When the Sun Goes Dark." The book is written for children nine years old and older.

In the fall, Fraknoi will start teaching in the University of San Francisco's Fromm Program, which offers daytime college courses for retired people 50 years old and older.

— Bay City News; Image via Rob Stothard/Getty Images News/Getty Images