More than 1,300 people gathered at Waynesboro Area Senior High School Buchanan Auto Stadium April 8 for a solar eclipse viewing party. Over the course of several hours, the Moon swept across the entire United States from the Texas-Mexico border through the Midwest to upstate New York and New England.
The free party was organized by The Institute of Waynesboro in collaboration with Waynesboro Area School District and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
On hand to guide the experience was Todd Toth, a master trainer with NASA’s GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to benefit the Environment) Program, an earth science research program in the study areas of atmosphere, pedosphere (soils), hydrosphere (water) and biosphere (plants and land cover).
Waynesboro was in a partial eclipse, Toth said. “It’s the only thing we’ve got for years to come. “It started at 2:06 p.m., with the maximum (92 percent) coverage at 3:21 p.m. and ended at 4:33 p.m. “Even for people who don’t totally understand the science, it’s a neat experience, added Toth, a former science teacher at WASHS who trains people to take atmospheric reading and soil testing with the GLOBE program.
Activities included making a solar viewing mask, color-changing solar bead bracelets and using a Sunspotter to make a sketch of the eclipse. Free safety solar eclipse sunglasses were distributed.
Eclipse observers were encouraged to download the free NASA GLOBE Observer App, which allows information to be sent to a database for further research and use. “I hope if people gathered data that they sent it into the app. The reason for the app is because this data can only be gathered during an eclipse. That’s why it’s so important. NASA can only study the corona (outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere) during an eclipse because otherwise the sun’s too bright and it can’t be seen.”
Waynesboro Area School District Superintendent Dr. Rita Sterner-Hine said more than 340 families pre-registered for the event. “And we have more than 40 staff who volunteered to assist with the party.” The WASHS Envirothon team served as solar ambassadors, offering assistance to download the observer app and answer questions, she added.
