Solar Eclipse 2017: Bartow Viewing Parties, School Dismissal Delayed

CARTERSVILLE, GA -- We are just two days and a few hours away from the near-total eclipse that will blanket metro Atlanta and north Georgia, and there are no shortage of events in Bartow County where you can experience this historic phenomenon.

From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, the Adairsville Public Library will host an eclipse viewing party at its facility at 202 North Main Street. Residents can watch the virtual viewing in the meeting room with live coverage. You can also bring a chair -- or blanket -- and set up camp on the lawn to watch the eclipse around 2:35 p.m.

Eclipse glasses will be available while supplies last. For more information, contact Becky Stiles at becky@bartowlibrary.org or 770-769-9200 (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

Of course, the Tellus Science Museum getting in on the action. The Cartersville-based institution will host a live feed of the eclipse in the theater with astronomer David Dundee and WSB-TV meteorologist Glenn Burns.

Tellus staff will also provide a play-by-play narrative as the moon moves across the sun during the eclipse. Outside, you can safely view the eclipse in the Tellus observatory and on the museum lawn through smaller telescopes.

As a reminder, Cartersville City schools will extend the school day on Aug. 21 by 45 minutes. The release times on that day are as follows:

• Kids & Company Pre-K: 3 p.m.
• Cartersville Primary School: 3:15 p.m.
• Cartersville Elementary School: 3:45 p.m.
• Cartersville Middle School: 4 p.m.
• Cartersville High School: 4:07 p.m.

Bartow County Schools also said it will delay dismissal of elementary school students by 30 minutes.

Middle and high school car riders and high school drivers will be dismissed on a normal schedule for that day, but bus routes will be delayed for middle and high, the system added. Elementary dismissal time will be 3:05 p.m. and middle and high school bus routes will begin at 4:05 p.m.

Like Cartersville Patch on Facebook!

The last time the U.S. saw a total eclipse was in 1979. During this year’s eclipse, the moon will fully block the sun for two minutes and 40 seconds. Only the northeast corner of Georgia will experience this; the rest of the state will see a partial eclipse. The moon will pass between the Earth and the sun, blocking all or part of the sun, for up to three hours.

During those brief moments -- when the moon completely blocks the sun’s bright face for about two minutes -- day will turn into night, making visible the otherwise hidden solar corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere. Bright stars and planets will become visible as well. Birds will fly to their nighttime roosts. Nocturnal insects such as cicadas and crickets will buzz and chirp.

For NASA, the eclipse provides a unique opportunity to study the sun, Earth, moon and their interaction because of its long path over land from coast to coast.

Eleven NASA and NOAA satellites, the International Space Station, more than 50 high-altitude balloons, and hundreds of ground-based assets will take advantage of this rare event over 90 minutes, sharing the science and the beauty of a total solar eclipse with all.

SEE ALSO: Solar Eclipse 2017: Protect Your Eyesight With Proper Glasses

NASA’s recommendations for safe eclipse viewing are:

• Stand still, and put on your eclipse glasses before looking up at the eclipse. Turn away to remove your eclipse glasses — do not remove them while looking at the sun.
• Do not look at the eclipse through a camera, a telescope or binoculars while using your eclipse glasses — the sun will damage the filter and your eyes.
• Always inspect your eclipse glasses before use; if they are scratched or damaged, do not use.
• Supervise children viewing the eclipse.
• Remove your eclipse glasses only when the moon completely covers the sun and it gets dark. Then, as soon as the sun begins to reappear, put your eclipse glasses back on.

NASA will bring the Aug. 21 eclipse live to viewers everywhere in the world through live streams and a NASA TV broadcast. You can learn more about safely viewing the solar eclipse on NASA's website.

Image via NASA