Library to host program on Aug. 3 about upcoming eclipse

GRAVETTE — The Great American Eclipse will cross the United States on Monday, August 21, resulting in a 93 percent partial eclipse over Gravette at approximately 1:11 p.m. The Gravette Public Library will host “Solar Eclipses and NASA’s Exploration of the Sun,” a presentation by Katherine Auld, on Thursday, August 3, at 7 p.m., at the library.

Auld teaches at Northwest Arkansas Community College and has a background in geology and a PhD in space and planetary sciences. In addition, she is a solar system ambassador with NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She also serves as president of the Sugar Creek Astronomical Society and is the board chair of Supporting STEM and Space, the nonprofit organization that recently donated a telescope to the library.

Solar viewing glasses will be available to the public and may be obtained at no charge at Austin Drug, the Gravette Eye Clinic, Teasley Drug and the Gravette Public Library, beginning August 1, while supplies last. The glasses were donated to the library by the Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning.

“It’s important to read the instructions on the solar viewing glasses and to make sure that the black plastic within the paper frame is not scratched or broken,” said Karen Benson, library supervisor. “Do not look at the sun through a telescope with or without the solar viewing glasses as the intensity of the sun’s rays can damage your eyes,” she added.

The glasses should fit snugly behind the ears. Parents and caregivers should make sure that solar viewing glasses worn by children are snug.

They may want to use clips or ties to make sure that the glasses do not fall off during use.

Please call the Gravette Public Library at 479-7876955 or visit www.gravettelibrary.org for more information. The Gravette Public Library is located at 119 Main Street, S.E.