Butler County residents plan to travel to see eclipse
Birds chirped like they were getting ready to nest and crowds of people wearing blackout glasses began looking toward the sky as darkness spread across the flat plains of Sweetwater, Tenn.
The “heavenly beauty” created by the solar eclipse in September 2017 made the nine-hour drive worth it for Jack McMillin, of Zelienople, who enjoyed the experience so much he plans to travel to view another solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.
This time, his drive will be significantly shorter, as one of the best views of the eclipse is just a short drive north of Butler County.
He’ll make the trip, just as long as the weather is good.
“It was a delightful, festive day,” McMillin said of the 2017 eclipse. “It's really some kind of an experience. Some people have been moved to tears during a total eclipse.”
Eclipse viewing tips
— Do not use regular sunglasses to view the eclipse. If you plan to watch the total or partial eclipse, purchase solar glasses that meet the safety requirement of the ISO 12312-2 international standard, supported by the American Astronomical Society.
— Do not watch through a phone camera. Watching the eclipse through a cellphone camera, camera lens, binoculars or other recording devices can magnify the UV light and can cause further damage to the retina.
— Be cautious of children. While children’s eyes are more vulnerable to sun damage, they can still enjoy the eclipse by wearing protective glasses.
— Stay inside if you have prior eye conditions. If you have prior macular conditions, sit this one out to avoid further damage and watch videos later.
The total solar eclipse will be most visible in a 167-mile wide swath of North America arching from California to the New England states called the “path of totality.” Other areas of the country will have only a partial view of heavenly show, said Army Sgt. William Rittersdorf, who works in Slippery Rock University’s ROTC program.
In Western Pennsylvania, the eclipse will be visible when the moon moves between the Earth and sun at 1,398 mph from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The total eclipse phase will be visible from about 3:15 to 3:20 p.m. The eclipse will be visible for a maximum of three minutes and 41 seconds from anywhere in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Optometrist Sarah Zambotti, of Allegheny Health Network, said looking at the sky during the eclipse without the proper protective eyewear could cause retinal damage.
Zambotti said regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the eclipse. She recommended viewers not look at the event through a phone camera; be cautious of children during the eclipse; and those with prior eye conditions should stay inside.
Zambotti said solar eclipse filters that meet the ISO 12312-2 standard are 100,000 times darker than normal sunglasses and will filter damaging UV rays from the sun to best protect your ocular health. She said these can be purchased from such online retailers as American Paper Optics, Daystar Filters, Rainbow Symphony and Thousand Oaks Optical.
They can be purchased locally at the Walmart Vision Center and other local retailers.
The next total solar eclipse that can be seen from the contiguous United States will be on Aug. 23, 2044, according to NASA.
Sarah Curran, of Butler, said as long as the weather is clear April 8, she and her family will drive up Route 8 until they “feel like stopping,” in an effort to get a good view of the eclipse. Her two sons, one in first grade and the other in sixth grade, are excited to see the event. The expected traffic is her other hang-up.
“We plan on leaving pretty early in the morning and taking a cooler with lunch and snacks in case we get stopped in traffic,” Curran said. “We do a lot of family educational field trips. Whenever there is something big or exciting happening and we can get there easily, we try and do that.”
Curran said she has a clear memory of viewing an eclipse when she was a young child at Emily Brittain Elementary School. The details of the eclipse itself are a bit blurry, but she said she remembers making boxes to look at the eclipse through with her whole class.
“It must have been a school day because we made little boxes,” Curran said. “I have a very vivid memory of looking at the eclipse with my class.”
Getting a chance to not only experience an eclipse as an adult, but see it along with her children is also exciting for Curran.
“I’m really excited to experience this. I hope that it is as cool as it seems,” Curran said. “Hopefully, it's awesome, and hopefully, it’s a clear day and everything lines up.”
Others like Maureen English, of Butler, and Bob Pakozdi, of Renfrew, plan to travel to Ohio for the occasion.
English plans to go to Geneva on the Lake in Ohio with her family of seven to see the eclipse April 8.
Pakozdi said his agenda for the day includes biking up the Western Reserve Greenway trail into the “woods to check out animal life when it happens” and viewing the eclipse while there.
McMillin said the eclipse he saw in 2017 only lasted about two-and-a-half minutes, and his research of this year’s eclipse shows that it will be longer. He also joked that he would travel to Asia on Aug. 12, 2026, to see the next partial solar eclipse.
“You can’t really describe it,” McMillin said. “It’s like the beauty and spirituality of the heavens.”
