PHOTO: the perhaps (instructions don't say if these are) folded backward cardboard and plastic framed glasses, required for viewing the solar eclipse Aug. 21, which I bought at a Corvallis Fred Meyer grocery store for $1.99 each on Jul. 28, 2017. The glasses are manufactured by Explore Scientific, LLC exploreone.com or explorescientificusa.com spearheaded by founder and President, Scott Roberts, who has spent over 30 years in the astronomy optics industry. The sales page for the Sun Catcher Sunglasses (2-Pack) $ 2.49 exploreone.com accessed Aug. 6, 2017 includes links to an article by Professor Michael D. Reynolds, "An Eclipse Primer," Free (PDF) www.explorescientificusa.com and a test report documenting the safety of these glasses per the standarad set by the International Organization for Standardization, "ISO 12312-2:2015, Eye and face protection -- Sunglasses and related eyewear -- Part 2: Filters for direct observation of the sun," iso.org Publication date : 2015-06 accessed Aug. 6, 2017. Also, shown is the cover of the student newspaper that included articles by Erin Dose and Sydney Sullivan, "Solar Eclipse Aug. 21, 2017," Oregon State University "The Baro," July 2017 cover story, p. 3, 8-9 dailybarometer.com July 31, 2017 posted online as "One million people to visit Oregon for celestial spectacle" and Sydney Sullivan, "Eclipse impacts on personal level," Oregon State University "The Baro," July 2017 cover story, p. 9 posted dailybarometer.com July 31, 2017. (A Facsimile of the printed newspaper dated Jun. 31, 2017 edition for Aug. is available at issuu.com)
The main NASA site for this eclipse, "Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 Aug 21" eclipse2017.nasa.gov includes links to the NASA Interactive Google Map that has been temporarily moved to the NASA, "Eclipse Maps" eclipse2017.nasa.gov accessed Aug. 7, 3027 due to high demand, at the link NASA Eclipse Interactive Map. A simple JPEG NASA map of Oregon Eclipse is also also available. NASA's calculation says my location at Oregon State University will start seing the partial eclipse Aug. 21 at 16:04:55.2 and start of the total eclipse at 17:16:54.1 ending at 17:18:38.6 in the morning.
The professional Corvallis newspaper also published a story by JENNIFER MOODY Albany Democrat-Herald, "Eclipse damage: Doctors can't help," gazettetimes.com posted Aug. 7, 3-17 with a quote from a doctor about the eye safety concern and the ISO standard mentioned above. It also mentions that "According to NASA, the moon's shadow will start creeping over the sun about 9 a.m. that Monday. Totality will hit the coast about 10:15 and in the mid-valley area a minute or two later." The editorial page included a photo of hardboard glasses to illustrate an opinion piece warning by the editor Mike McInally, "Editorial: Beware fake glasses for eclipse viewing," gazettetimes.com posted Aug. 6, 2017.
The student newspaper story said:
. . . according to Randall Milstein, an astronomy professor at OSU and an astronomer-in-residence for the Oregon NASA Space Grant Consortium. . . . while there is an eclipse somewhere in the world approximately every 18 months, a total solar eclipse has not crossed the entirety of the contiguous United States since 1918. . .
In Corvallis, the eclipse will start at 9:05 a.m. and end at 11:37 a.m. The moment of totality will occur at 10:16 a.m. and last for one minute and 35 seconds . . .
Another large event coinciding with the eclipse is 'OSU150 Space Grant Festival: A Total Eclipse Experience,' the first of many events that will occur over the course of the 2017-2018 academic year in celebration of OSU's sesquicentennial. Attendees will have the option of renting residence hall rooms for the weekend of the eclipse. One-person rooms in Wilson Hall, Callahan Hall, McNary Hall and Finley Hall are available for $265 for the weekend, while two-person rooms are priced at $375. Family-option rooms offered in Tebeau Hall, the International Living-Learning Center and Halsell Hall have already sold out, according to the festival's website. . .
Another student newspaper story said:
Richard Watson, who serves on the board of directors for an amateur astronomer's club associated with the local Corvallis community, the Heart of the Valley Astronomers, has sought out four solar eclipses in his lifetime, traveling as far as Cabo San Lucas to see these spectacles. However, for the upcoming eclipse he will not have to leave his own home. . .
Tom Carrico, the head of the Heart of the Valley Astronomers, is helping the Corvallis community to prepare for these brief seconds of totality happening in August.
Though retired from human resources a couple of years ago, planning for the solar eclipse has become more than just a part-time job. According to Carrico, lessons that the Heart of the Valley Astronomers teach at the Corvallis public library have been selling out in a matter of minutes. . . .
In 1979, Randall Milstein, an astronomy professor at OSU, said he was able to witness a partial solar eclipse happen over the mainland United States while he was living in Michigan.
"That's the one thing I remember from seeing, not even a total eclipse, a partial eclipse in 1979, was that it was dead quiet. Everything just stopped. And that struck me as the most eerie thing," Milstein said. . . .
Like Carrico and Bradshaw, Milstein is putting on workshops throughout Corvallis and other cities around the path of totality in order to remind everyone this event can be very life-altering. According to Milstein, his workshops are intended to remind people totality will only be in Corvallis for a minute and 40 seconds and it will not be repeated.
"There are people who witness a solar eclipse and laugh, other people will sob, or literally fall backwards on the ground and just sit there with their mouth open. Some people will sing or hum, or there will be just dead silence," Milstein said.
Corvallis was on the edge of a total solar eclipse on February 26, 1979 and I recall watching it from upstairs in Hewlett-Packard's building 4 -- the first of two buildings completed at that time. There were no other buildings or large trees to block my view, and the open office plan allowed me to look south toward Eugene to see bright sunlight while turning my head to see the the windows turn dark on the north side of the building. All of my coworkers briefly paused to watch before going back to doing the engineering research and development work for handheld programmable computers (i.e. business and scientific calculators) plus HP's first personal computer and thermal printer.
I hope to see the Aug. 21st total eclipse in Corvallis, provided neither rain nor my low vision blindness prevents me from using the protective eyeglasses I bought for $1.99 at a grocery store on Kings Blvd.
PHOTO: The path and time of the total solar eclipse over that will be seen over Oregon State University and Corvallis, Oregon was printed in a graphic for the newspaper story by Bennet Hall, "Summer of the eclipse," Gazette-Times, Sun. May 21, 2017, p. A1, A4. Corvallis is set for Aug. 21, 2017 at 10:16AM lasting about 1 iminute and 40 seconds. The last eclipse in Corvallis occurred on Feb. 26, 1979. See previous post Total solar eclipse will pass over Corvallis and OSU (6/11/17)
