Party time at the Wessling
Unless you have gone so far off the grid that you haven’t even gotten a recent notice about your warranty expiring it’s likely you have heard about the impending eclipse. Turns out our friends over at the S.F. Wessling Observatory are all in for the event and are inviting folks to join in the fun. Here’s the skinny on the event courtesy of Dark Skies Astronomers member John Armstrong: We wanted to share some details for our very first public open house of the season at the S. F. Wessling Observatory! It's actually a *daytime* event, as we'll be gathering there in the afternoon on Mon April 8 to celebrate a major event taking place... Viewing the upcoming Solar Eclipse! From our location at the observatory, we'll see the Moon start taking out a small chuck of the Sun's edge around 1:55pm (known as "first contact"). The greatest eclipsing of the Sun by the Moon (called "occultation") will be about 3:11pm. And finally, the Moon exits the Sun's disc at around 4:24pm (called "fourth contact"). The observatory's public "solar eclipse party" event begins at 1:00pm, and wraps up around 4:30pm. From our W. MI location in Fremont, the Moon should cover about 90-95% of the Sun's disc at maximum. AND, as a bonus... We "may" be able to spot a few planets as darkness increases - - Jupiter to the left of the Sun, and Venus, Saturn, and "maybe" Mars to the right! Here are a few extra details... We'll have our usual admission - $5 for adults, $2 for students, and age 5 and under FREE. This includes a COMPLIMENTARY pair of ISO-certified "solar glasses" for *SAFELY* viewing the eclipse! The Newaygo County Conservation District should also have solar viewing glasses available for $2.00, if you want to grab a pair ahead of time. WARNING DO NOT look directly at the Sun with your eyes, or through camera lenses, binoculars, or a telescope without proper filters!! Doing so may cause PERMANENT damage to your eyesight!! Please use ISO-certified solar viewing glasses (provided at sign-in). Please stop at the Science Building *FIRST* to sign in, and get your FREE solar glasses. Parking at the observatory will be at and around the farmhouse. We hope to have a few volunteers directing folks where to park. (We had quite the attendance at the last solar eclipse party, so you're welcome to come early for a parking spot. But please know that we will not start letting people through until 1:00pm - Thanks!). You're welcome to bring folding or camping chairs with you if you have them (It may still be a bit chilly, so remember to dress accordingly for that day's weather). Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are welcome, but PLEASE respect the observatory grounds and property (trash containers will be available). The observatory will have several filter-equipped and special hydrogen-alpha (Ha) solar telescopes set up for safely viewing the eclipse. We hope to have a video feed set up in Science Building Lab-B to enhance our viewing, and see the eclipse from other locations. So that's about it, folks! All of us here at the S. F. Wessling Observatory look forward to viewing the upcoming solar eclipse with all of you on Monday, April 8 at 1:00pm! Until then... Clear Skies!
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