Lenawee County libraries provide free solar glasses, information about solar eclipses
Monday’s solar eclipse, for some people, came and went pretty quickly — depending on where the eclipse was being viewed from — but it definitely was the talk-of-the-talk for much of the past couple of weeks.
The April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse is the last of its kind to cross the United States until 2044, giving millions of Americans and those locally a once-in-a-generation celestial show. The next total eclipse won’t be for another 75 years, experts have said.
While Lenawee County was outside of the path of totality — the area where the moon fully blocks out the sun — it remained quite the experience for many people to witness the darkening of the afternoon day. Even with more than 99% of the sun obscured by the moon, there was enough daylight sneaking around the moon and reaching the Earth that it appeared more like twilight had fallen upon the area.
In Clinton, staff at the Clinton Township Public Library greeted eclipse watchers younger and older for the library’s eclipse viewing party.
Seventy-four people were in and out of the library between 2 and a little after 3:30 p.m. Monday, which had its solar eclipse party scheduled until 4. That number of attendees exceeded expectations, according to Mary Mags Getz, programming director/library assistant at the Clinton Township Public Library.
“We had a really good time watching the eclipse outside,” Getz said. “We had no clouds, which we were very happy about. Inside, we had on the (NASA solar eclipse) live stream, a couple of eclipse crafts including chalk eclipses, sun dials and solar beads for bracelets. We had a moderate turnout for the crafts, and we handed out (solar eclipse) glasses to people in the area who didn’t have them.”
With funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Space Science Institute, through its Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries (SEAL) program, was able to distribute five million solar-viewing glasses to 10,000 libraries along with providing information and activities to share with library patrons. The Clinton library was one of the thousands of recipients of solar glasses and eclipse activities/workshops.
It’s all part of the library striving to provide its community with public good, Getz said.
“We always want to offer free educational opportunities for everyone, whether they have a library card or not,” she said.
Monday’s eclipse spanned two-and-a-half hours, beginning around 1:55 p.m. and ending at 4:26 p.m. with the peak coverage at 3:12 p.m. There was at least 99.5% totality experienced in Morenci, the city said, where in response to the eclipse, Morenci Area Schools released students at noon enabling them to witness the celestial phenomenon firsthand either locally or traveling to an area with full totality.
The Lake Hudson Recreation Area organized a viewing party of its own for the near-total eclipse. Visit Lenawee provided complimentary eclipse glasses to attendees in the beach parking lot.
In preparation for the eclipse, Morenci’s Stair District Library hosted 13abc Toledo meteorologist Ross Ellet on March 21 who discussed the eclipse and encouraged residents to consider making the journey to a totality zone. More than 90 patrons packed the library for Ellet’s presentation, which drew in audience members from throughout county, Colleen Leddy, Stair District Library director, said.
“A mere 27-mile drive to Napoleon, Ohio, offers spectators one minute and 41 seconds of totality. Extending the journey an additional 10 miles south to Holgate, Ohio, provides nearly another minute of totality, totaling two minutes and 34 seconds. For those seeking the ultimate experience, the center path of the total eclipse lies approximately 95 miles south of Morenci, near Botkins, Ohio, with an impressive three minutes and 57 seconds of totality,” a news release from Morenci said.
Ellet advised travelling residents to depart early and to anticipate potential traffic delays. He also emphasized the importance of keeping solar-viewing glasses on while looking directly at the sun..
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Free solar glasses were distributed to all Morenci Area Schools students through the Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries (SEAL) program received by the Stair District Library.
— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at bheineman@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: www.twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: County libraries provide solar glasses, information about solar eclipses
