Ohio State is preparing its campuses for Ohio’s first total solar eclipse in over 200 years. Credit: David Petkiewicz [Original Caption: The total solar eclipse as seen from Hopkinsville, Kentucky on Monday, August 21, 2017.]
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, creating a path of totality, also known as the track of the moon’s shadow across the Earth’s surface, according to NASA. Those within the path of totality — a 124-mile-wide band that spans diagonally across the country — can see a full solar eclipse.
During totality, the moon will completely block the sun for four minutes and 30 seconds, darkening the sky and casting a shadow on Earth, said Wayne Schlingman, the director of the Arne Slettebak Planetarium at Ohio State.
Parts of Ohio fall within this path, allowing students to witness a rare event that isn’t predicted to reoccur in Ohio until 2099, Schlingman said.
“Even though eclipses occur fairly regularly, it’s not very often that the tiny little band — literally a 100-mile-wide slice across the surface of the Earth — will happen anywhere near us,” Schlingman said. “It’s just rare that they’re going to be nearby for us to be able to see, let alone in our backyard.”
A total solar eclipse within the line of totality can last for a few seconds, all the way up to seven minutes and 30 seconds. Schlingman said Monday’s is estimated to last for roughly three minutes.
“With this eclipse, it’s going to be about 100 miles wide, so you can basically measure how long it’s going to be that you’re going to be inside of that shadow,” Schlingman said.
Location is key to witnessing a full solar eclipse, Schlingman said.
“[For a] solar eclipse, you have to be in the right spot,” Schlingman said. “That’s why they’re rare, even though we can have them approximately every six months.”
Weather can also potentially impact a solar eclipse experience. Schlingman said although it will get dark regardless, variables such as clouds and fog can potentially shield viewers from seeing the planets, stars and solar corona — the outermost region of the sun — during the eclipse.
“Even though it could be completely cloudy, by the next 20 minutes, it might just have a [right opening] and we’ll be able to see totality, and so it’s just being in the right place and having an opening and taking that chance,” Schlingman said.
Ohio State’s regional Lima, Mansfield, Marion and College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Wooster campuses are directly within the path, guaranteeing a full solar eclipse, Schlingman said. Consequently, these campuses will remain open for visitor parking, but classes will be conducted virtually for those interested in experiencing the unique phenomenon.
Although Ohio State’s Columbus and Newark campuses won’t fall within the path of totality, students can still anticipate a rare celestial event and partial solar eclipse where only part of the sun is blocked, Schlingman said. Columbus is roughly a mile south of the path, so the campus will operate as usual, though Ohio State plans to offer educational opportunities and approved viewing glasses while prepping for tourism-related traffic at every campus.
Students can refer to this interactive map that illustrates what the eclipse will look like in Columbus and in the surrounding suburban areas. According to the map, students will be able to see the ring that is created from the total eclipse in Dublin.
Although the Columbus and Newark campuses will operate normally, students, faculty and staff are encouraged to remain flexible with classes and potential challenges such as increased traffic due to tourism, said Ryan Schmiesing, the senior vice provost for external engagement.
Ohio State offered a series of presentations about the science of solar eclipses at the Arne Slettebak Planetarium, which Schmiesing said took place March 16. The university will also communicate with students, faculty and staff about potential issues related to the event such as traffic, keeping campuses open for visitor parking and preparing the Department of Transportation and Traffic Management for the increased flow of people traveling to and within the campuses.
“The university itself has a lot of experience with major events that bring in a lot of people to the campus or to the community in general, so you rely on those experiences and people who work on those things every day to help provide input to a campus or part of the university that doesn’t experience that every day,” Schmiesing said.
All cities are expected to experience an increase in demand for lodging, food and entertainment from visitors hoping to see the eclipse, Schlingman said.
“Ohio itself is planning on about half a million people coming into the state at the moment,” Schlingman said. “That’s not counting the people in the state that are going to move to go see it. Ohio [has] roughly 12 million people, and everyone other than those in Cleveland are going to have to kind of move into that line of totality.”
To look at the sun for an extended period, especially during a solar eclipse, Schlingman said the International Organization for Standardization’s approved glasses must be worn.
“Sunglasses are not good enough to protect our eyeballs, and we need to have the right equipment in order to not have permanent eye damage,” Schlingman said. “Even though we’re blocking out a lot of visible light [during the eclipse], we could still be burning our eyeballs with the ultraviolet and infrared radiation we can’t see.”
Some Ohio State departments, offices and organizations such as the Alumni Association, are offering community members eclipse glasses, Schmiesing said. They can also be bought online.
Regardless of location, Schlingman recommends all students, faculty and staff find time to watch or travel to nearby locations to experience the sense of community and companionship total solar eclipses create with others.
“We’re going to celebrate this with millions of others, millions of people across the country [and] the world, plus hundreds of thousands of Buckeyes,” Schlingman said. “This is something that we’re going to be talking about when it comes time for football season in the fall because we all got to see it together, and I think that’s something super special.”
