The greater Albion community is invited to Albion College’s Quadrangle Monday, April 8, for a safe and festive viewing of the near-total solar eclipse. In Albion, the eclipse starts with “first contact” at 1:55 p.m. The maximum coverage occurs at 3:11 p.m. and the eclipse concludes at 4:25 p.m.

Free solar eclipse glasses and pinhole projectors rentals for viewing the eclipse will be distributed starting at 1:30 p.m. on the College’s Quadrangle. After the eclipse, we will be collecting the glasses and donating them to Astronomers Without Borders, in support of their eclipse glasses recycling program. Students will be around to collect glasses on the day of the eclipse, and the Physics Department will collect them indefinitely. Albion College physics professor and planetary scientist Nicolle Zellner stressed the danger of looking at the sun without protection specifically designed for this purpose. “Even during the eclipse, you can permanently damage your eyes if you don’t have eclipse glasses,” she said. “Dark sunglasses or any other dark filters are not safe.”

Zellner further pointed out that cell phone cameras and other electronics may also be damaged by solar radiation during attempts at photography. “If you want to take photos during the eclipse, you need a solar filter for your camera,” she said.

Albion’s Palenske Observatory and telescope inside the Albion College Science Complex will also be open to the public on April 8.

This event will not take place if clouds block the view of the sun. For more information, see the Physics Department Observation page. Parking is available on the street or in Lot 4 on the corner of Cass and Oswego Streets.