Sky’s not falling, so let’s party

Sherri Gardner HowellFarragut

Forget about Chicken Little and listen to Littmann. Mark Littman, professor of journalism and electronic media at the University of Tennessee, will discuss the upcoming solar eclipse at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, at Farragut Town Hall. While there, you can also find out more about the town’s Eclipse Party at McFee Park on Monday, Aug. 21 – Eclipse Day.

Mark Littmann will discuss the upcoming solar eclipse at Farragut Town Hall. The photo of the eclipse was taken in 1999 by Fred Espenak.

Littmann is the author of “Totality: The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024” and has helped lead eclipse expeditions to Canada, Hawaii, Bolivia, Aruba and Turkey. Before joining UT in 1991, Littmann directed a large planetarium in Salt Lake City for 18 years and taught astronomy at the University of Utah and Loyola University in Baltimore. He has written several books about astronomy and produced 35 planetarium programs.

Farragut is on the northern edge of the eclipse’s path of totality, giving residents a good view – if it’s not cloudy – of the celestial event on Aug. 21. A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and earth and blocks all or part of the sun. The last time a total eclipse was visible in the contiguous U.S. was 1979.

While everyone in North America plus parts of South America, Africa and Europe will see at least a partial eclipse, the 70-mile wide path of totality will only pass through 14 U.S. states. In our area, the partial phase of the eclipse is expected to begin at 1:04 p.m., with totality beginning at 2:33 p.m. and lasting for one minute and 20 seconds.

The Eclipse Party begins at 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, at McFee Park. The first 300 participants will receive free eclipse glasses.

Info: Contact Lauren Cox, Farragut’s special events and programs coordinator at  lcox@townoffarragut.org or 281-3372.

 

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