DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A rare solar eclipse will turn off the lights (sort of) in Georgia this weekend, and DeKalb County’s Fernbank Science Center has a big event planned for it.
The annual Oktoberfest is held on Saturday, providing the community with a great place to observe celestial phenomena. This is a free event offering a variety of science activities.
“We often forget that science is part of our natural lives, but eclipses are a great reminder of that,” said Science Center Director Janetta Greenwood. “This is a great experience. I believe in experiential learning.”
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During a solar eclipse, the center allows visitors to peer through large telescopes equipped with solar filters to protect their eyes. Sun protection glasses will also be distributed.
The annular solar eclipse is expected to be visible after 11 a.m. Saturday, with peak viewing time after 1 p.m. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. Because the moon is farthest from the planet, it appears small and does not obscure the entire disk of the sun. Instead, a thin, bright outer ring forms around the moon, making this solar eclipse known as the “Ring of Fire.”
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Channel 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz said the moon will cover 52 percent of the sun in metro Atlanta.
“Late in the morning, as this eclipse begins, you’ll first notice that a small portion of the moon is moving toward the sun,” Nitz said. “It will peak after 1 p.m. About half of the sun will be covered by the moon. It won’t be enough to make it dark, but it may be something like a cloud moving across the sun.”
The science center on Heaton Park Drive is scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Saturday, where Jaden Spermon, a ninth-grader who takes classes at the science center, plans to watch the eclipse. “I’m looking forward to the darkness and shadows,” he said. “I think it’s interesting how the moon blocks the sun.”
Sean Funkhouser, a teacher at the center, said he has been “provoking inspiration and curiosity for his students” in the days leading up to the eclipse.
“Rather than telling them what to look for, I try to have them use their senses and observe what may be changing around them,” he said. .
Although our region won’t see a circular solar eclipse like the one seen in the western United States, the director of the Fernbank Science Center says it will be educational and memorable. “We still have a chance to see how the moon casts shadows and creates some darkness.”
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