Many people are making last-minute plans to view Monday’s eclipse, but at Wareham High School they’ve been getting ready all year long.
The school offers an astronomy class and astronomy club, both led by science teacher Alfonso Navarro.
“We've been working over the whole year — looking at solar observations, using solar filters, using solar eclipse glasses … and we're very excited to be able to share that with the community,” he said.
In class, he shows students how to test eclipse glasses. They put the glasses on, and he shines the flashlight from his phone directly into their eyes. They should just barely be able to see the light.
“That's really a great way to check the safety of your eclipse glasses,” he said.
You can check for scratches or pinholes in eclipse glasses that may have been handled roughly or stored since the last eclipse, he said.
The peak of the eclipse for viewers on Cape Cod, the South Coast, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard will happen around 3:30 p.m. Monday. The region is not in the path of totality but will experience a nearly 90 percent eclipse.
“There's still a large portion of the sun getting covered,” said Wareham High junior Emma McWilliams, a member of the astronomy club. “And that, I think, is something to really look forward to, even if it's not totality.”
One thing she learned in the club is how to make a simple pinhole projector — a device that projects the sun’s light onto a solid surface for viewing. The simplest version consists of a small hole cut into something like a piece of paper or foil.
“Even if you aren't wearing the eclipse glasses, the outline of the sun can shine through, and you can see it on a solid surface, like the ground or on a piece of paper,” she said. “So even if you aren't looking right at the sun with the glasses, you can still experience it and do it safely.”
One fun thing to try, Navarro said, is using a colander as a pinhole viewer. Hold a colander a few feet away from a white sheet of paper, and it makes a pattern of many little crescent suns.
And remember: No sunglasses are dark enough to protect your eyes when viewing the sun. Eclipse glasses protect your eyes not only from visible light, but also from the infrared and ultraviolet light you can’t see.
It can be tempting to face the sun to try to take pictures, but bear in mind that you won’t be able to see the camera while wearing eclipse glasses, Navarro said. For safety, he attaches a camera to a telescope equipped with a solar filter and a 90-degree angled viewer. The angle allows you to look away from the sun while looking at the camera.
When Monday’s eclipse is done, astronomy won’t be forgotten at Wareham High School.
Navarro said the club holds astronomy nights on an almost monthly basis on the softball field. Students invite their parents and friends, and he brings his telescopes.
“We check out the planets, globular clusters, nebulae, and all kinds of things,” he said.
They also just stand there and look up — at constellations, at the night sky — and ask questions.
“We can just ask, you know, the questions of the universe, which is kind of a timeless thing to do.”
