Solar Eclipse: Fleet Science Center​ In San Diego Offers Free Viewing Event

SAN DIEGO, CA – With the solar eclipse only a week away, officials at the Fleet Science Center announced Monday that they will hold a free viewing event.

The solar eclipse is scheduled to begin in San Diego shortly after 9 a.m. next Monday and reach its height at 10:23 a.m.

People in Southern California will see a partial eclipse, with about 57 percent of its area in San Diego, while a total solar eclipse will be visible in a 100-mile-wide swath across the continental United States from Oregon to South Carolina.

It will be the first total solar eclipse visible in the United States since 1979. After next Monday, there won't be a solar eclipse visible in San Diego until 2023.

"The eclipse is an event for all of your senses," said Steve Snyder, CEO of Fleet Science Center.

"During the eclipse, take the time to look at the world around you," Snyder said. "Watch the shadows of the trees for projections of the eclipse. Listen to the sounds around you as the natural world reacts to this event. See if you can feel the change in temperature as the moon begins to block the sun."

Attendees in front of the Fleet Science Center will find supplies to build a pinhole projector, a solar telescope from the San Diego Astronomy Association and an opportunity to purchase inexpensive solar eclipse glasses made with special filters that allow viewing the eclipse without risking eye damage.

Dr. Lisa Will, the museum's resident astronomer and a San Diego City College professor, will be on hand to discuss the eclipse.

Inside the museum, the "NASA Edge Megacast" will be displayed from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the dome theater.

The NASA production will show the eclipse from 11 spacecraft, at least three NASA aircraft, more than 50 high-altitude balloons and the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Each view will offer a unique vantage point for the celestial event.

Museum officials said that when the moon completely blocks the sun the otherwise hidden solar corona will appear, and bright stars and planets also will become visible.

The megacast viewing in the dome theater will be included with museum admission. It will also be shown in the museum lobby.

By City News Service

Kristina Houck/Patch contributed to this report.

Image via NASA