Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
1,500 skywatchers at WCU
Eclipse glasses provided for visitors at Mather Planetarium
WEST CHESTER » Borough resident Jackie Benedict wasn’t taking any chances.
Before leaving for Monday afternoon’s eclipse party at the West Chester University Quad she pulled the blinds down so her aptly named dog “Shadow” wouldn’t damage her eyes.
Like many, Benedict was hesitant at first to view the eclipse through special glasses supplied free by the university but then gave in to the wonder of the moment and safely watched the moon cover most of the sun’s rays.
“It looks like somebody took a bite out of a cookie,” Benedict said.
Westtown School fourth grader Melissa Freeman said the rare sight resembled a Pac-Man game.
Jessica Norris is a graduate student majoring in geosciences. The first thing she did after getting out of bed was head outside to check on the weather and cloud cover.
She then accessed her weather app – something she had been doing regularly for two days. Heavy clouds covered much of the sky during the morning.
Fortunately for about 1,500 skywatchers at WCU, clouds gave way to brilliant sunshine in time for the 2:43 p.m. peak of the eclipse.
“It’s one those phenomenons you learn about in second grade and only get to see pictures of in textbooks,” Norris said. “The second grader in us is interested to see it.”
Marc Gagne is an astronomy professor at WCU.
“All interest in astronomy is interest in science,” he said. “This is an astronomical event everyone can appreciate.”
Gagne explained why a rare eclipse of the sun is fascinating. He said the angular size of the moon is exactly the same size as the angular size to the sun.
“When the sun, earth and moon formed, the distance between the moon and the earth was just right so that today we can observe a total solar eclipse,” he said with a smile. “That’s the fun coincidence.”
A full eclipse was visible for many in a line stretching from Oregon to South Carolina.
Still, in West Chester, when the moon covered about 75 percent of the sun, several “oohs and aahs” were mouthed.
Gagne said that astronomy is popular at the university.
Students learn about the discovery of almost 5,000 planets outside of our solar system, along with expansion of the universe and the Big Bang Theory.
Jillian Termine of West Chester was surrounded by children who walked to the event. Almost half of the spectators at the party were teenaged or younger.
Termine said that the eclipse was “history” and a first for all the children who attended.
Associate Professor Karen Schwartz, astronomer and director of the WCU Mather Planetarium handed out glasses and helped organize the event.
“This is a teachable moment,” she said. “They’re learning that you don’t have to wear a lab coat or have a microscope — science is happening here.
“Hopefully this will get a lot of kids interested in science.”
Retired Fern Hill Elementary School teacher Joyce Hiemenz said she was covered by goose bumps all morning.
“Learning is best when it is hands-on,” Hiemenz said.
The Quad was full of events and different ways to view the eclipse.
Kids could design a solar system in their pocket with a cash register receipt and stickers, mark the movement of the eclipse on a sundial and had several ways to watch, including with a pair of telescopes.