Impending solar eclipse drives intense local interest

The impending solar eclipse seems to be taking the nation by storm, and it’s no less evident in southern Vermont than in pop culture and national news. As solar mania sweeps the nation, local libraries are struggling to keep solar viewers on their shelves.

www.eagletimes.com    





Even cheaper: Those shiny aluminized mylar wrappers that Pop-Tarts come packaged in work as sun-dimming camera filters too.

2017-08-18 / Front Page Impending solar eclipse drives intense local interest By KELSEY CHRISTENSEN kchristensen@eagletimes.com An array of solar-themed books sits on a table at the Springfield Town Library in Springfield, Vermont as part of a special display ahead of Monday’s solar eclipse. — KELSEY CHRISTENSENAn array of solar-themed books sits on a table at the Springfield Town Library in Springfield, Vermont as part of a special display ahead of Monday’s solar eclipse. — KELSEY CHRISTENSENThe impending solar eclipse seems to be taking the nation by storm, and it’s no less evident in southern Vermont than in pop culture and national news. As solar mania sweeps the nation, local libraries are struggling to keep solar viewers on their shelves. Solar-viewing events will abound in the Vermont and New Hampshire area on Monday for the eclipse: the Fiske Free Library in Claremont will feature Odds Bodkins’ storytelling, Newport will offer eclipse trivia and make Sun Cookies at their event, and the Windsor Public Library will attempt to project an image of the eclipse from a telescope viewfinder to a sheet laid out on the ground. It’s important to protect one’s eyes during an eclipse, though. Similar to 3D glasses in form and composition, solar viewers protect the wearer’s eyes from the damage and potential blindness that can occur when viewing an eclipse with the naked eye. Libraries spontaneously became the institutions most invested in providing residents with the viewing glasses, promoting free solar-viewers on offer in one’s local public library. Or, at least, they were. “We had an incredible run,” said Sam Haskins, youth librarian at the Rockingham Public Library. “It lasted all of three days and now they’re all gone.” STAR_net awarded a grant to Rockingham Public Library to provide 2,000 solar viewing glasses. “At the time I thought 2,000 would be too many, but in hindsight I should have asked for 5,000,” Haskins said. Fortunately, the Rockingham Public Library will still have 50 viewing devices on hand for kids who want to participate in the eclipse program the library is hosting on Monday, but the mania has illuminated public enthusiasm for the celestial event. “I thought there wouldn’t be much interest because we won’t be able to see the totality, but I was wrong,” Haskins said. “It’s been fantastic. This has been a great thing we’ve been able to provide for the community.” Rockingham isn’t the only town gobsmacked by interest in the eclipse. Springfield, too, had to hang a sign on their door explaining that they were out of eclipse glasses only 24 hours after they began offering them. “The glasses went in a flash,” said Amy Howlett, director at Springfield Town Library. Originally, the library had hoped to run a program with Stellafane or the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group (SoVerA), but soon learned that many local stargazers would be out of town for the event. “They kind of said ‘Sorry, everyone who cares about eclipses is traveling to somewhere you can see the total eclipse,’” Howlett said. So, Howlett ordered 100 for the library, to be available to local cardholders. The library put out a notice at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, and by Thursday morning, they were out. “We kind of got the message that 100 wasn’t enough,” Howlett said. There is a silver lining, however, and not just the Corona that will appear around the moon during the eclipse. The Springfield Public Library signed around 20 new members up for a library card during the brief solar-glasses pick-up period. Springfield still has its eyes on the skies, though. Solar-themed books are on display in the library, and kids can take a quiz to test their celestial knowledge ahead of the eclipse. Meanwhile, Windsor Public Library has stocked only enough glasses to give out at the eclipse event being hosted there on Monday, but they’ve been staggered by the response as well. “We didn’t expect the demand,” said Christine Porter, director of the Windsor Public Library. “We thought 20 would be enough, based on our other programs, but we’ve had 10 calls a day. We’ve even had calls from Massachusetts.” At Windsor’s event, 20 glasses will be on offer: first come, first served. Following the overwhelming demand for solar viewing glasses, libraries have turned to advising patrons on other safe ways to view an eclipse. One can make a pinhole projector, for example, by taking a sheet of paper and making a tiny hole in the middle of it using a pin or a thumbtack. With your back towards the Sun, hold one piece of paper above your shoulder allowing the Sun to shine on the paper. The second sheet of paper will act as a screen. Holding it at a distance, one will see an inverted image of the sun projected on the paper screen through the pinhole. While the eclipse — and the local enthusiasm — may be a phenomenon, Howlett thinks the excitement is here to say. “It’s been really fun working the desk in this period. People have been coming in and talking about other natural events,” Howlett said, citing the recent meteor shower, or the red moon. “It seems like having this partial eclipse has electrified everybody.”