Celebrate the “astronomical event of the century” at the CState Solar Eclipse Party on Apr. 8

All Cincinnati State students and employees (and your family members and friends) are invited to the Solar Eclipse Viewing Party on Clifton Campus, hosted by President Monica Posey, on Monday, April 8.

The party will start at 2:30 p.m. in the area outside the Welcome Center, on the ATLC ground floor, where you can pick up refreshments. Then grab your eclipse-viewing glasses and head to the top floor of the Central Parkway Garage by 3:05 p.m. for safe viewing of what’s being called “one of the biggest astronomical events of the century.”

• Cincinnati State eclipse-watching glasses have been distributed in classes and in several other campus locations. If you’re still in need of glasses, check the Student Activities Office (ATLC 204) or the Library (Main first floor).
• Wearing eclipse glasses is essential to safe viewing–even brief moments of looking directly at the sun can cause immediate, permanent damage to your eyes.
• When the event ends, please consider adding your glasses to a special recycling container that will be available, or bring your glasses to the Humanities & Sciences office (Main 232) for recycling. The Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub will send the glasses to the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio, which is sending glasses to students in Latin America who will experience an eclipse in October 2024.

Cincinnati is just outside the path of totality for this solar eclipse, with about 99.7 percent of the sun obscured by the moon at the peak, which should occur about 3:09 p.m.

The total eclipse will happen regardless of the weather. However, if it’s a cloudy day, the sky will be darker, and experts say the transition into total darkness will seem more sudden, instead of a subtle change from daylight to darkness as the moon covers the sun.

If you can’t join the party or prefer to see the 100% totality view without leaving town, NASA will be live streaming the eclipse on its website: https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024, and many TV networks will be providing coverage also. In the U.S., totality will begin in Texas at 1:27 p.m. (Central Daylight Time) and will end in Maine at 3:35 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on April 8.