Join Ripon College for a public solar eclipse event Aug. 21

The Department of Physics will host a solar eclipse viewing event Aug. 21. The event is open to the public.

Tables will be set up outside of S.N. Pickard Commons from noon to 2 p.m. Eclipse viewers will be available for use, and there will be a number of related activities.

The partial eclipse (about 80 percent coverage) will begin at 11:51 p.m. and end at 2:37 p.m. The maximum for the eclipse will occur at 1:15 p.m. and will last about 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Please do not look directly at the eclipse, even at its maximum, as the sun will damage your eyes. Use proper eye protection for safe viewing!

Without special eye protection, viewing a partial eclipse even for a short time can cause vision loss or even permanent blindness.

A total solar eclipse — when the moon completely covers the sun — will be visible from coast to coast in a 70-mile-wide band from central Oregon through South Carolina.