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Eclipse Party at the HCH in Clinton

To mark the first total solar eclipse visible in North America in 38 years, the Henry Carter Hull library in Clinton will host a viewing party for interested parties on between noon and 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21.

The event will take place in the library’s community room and will feature a live stream of the eclipse from NASA’s satellite as it tracks the eclipse. The library will provide snacks, a fact sheet, coloring pages, and stickers. Guests may bring their own snacks as well.

Sarah Borgnis-Tobin, the adult programing coordinator at the library, said the idea for the event came together at he last minute after a number of people had called the library in search of eclipse glasses. “We’re always looking to the interests of our patrons,” said Borgnis-Tobin.

The library will not be providing eclipse glasses at the event, which are special glasses that were constructed to allow people wearing them to look at the eclipse safely. In lieu of the glasses, however, the library will offer a live steam from a NASA satellite that will allow viewers to watch the eclipse as it happens.

“It’s a rare occasion and the library is happy to celebrate it,” Borgnis-Tobin said.

NASA’s website for the eclipse, eclipse2017.nasa.gov, explains how eclipses occur: “Eclipses occur due to the special coincidence of the moon and the Sun being the same angular size. The sun is 400 times wider than the moon, but it is also 400 times farther away, so they coincidentally appear to be the same size in our sky. This is what allows us the phenomenal beauty of the total solar eclipse.

“This celestial event is a solar eclipse in which the moon passes between the sun and Earth and blocks all or part of the sun for up to about three hours, from beginning to end, as viewed from a given location. For this eclipse, the longest period when the moon completely blocks the sun from any given location along the path will be about two minutes and 40 seconds.”

Borgnis-Tobin also points out that the library is air conditioned and that the event will go on rain or shine. Even if it’s a cloudy day on Monday, the event will and livestream will still allow people to view the eclipse.

“We welcome everyone to come,” said Borgnis-Tobin.

For more information, call 860-669-2342.