Upcoming Solar Eclipse To Cover 94% Of Sun In Mahaska County

A partial solar eclipse visible at the Lacey Complex in October of 2014.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The upcoming solar eclipse has many people curious about how to best view it, and how to do it safely.

Laura DeCook, Mahaska County Conservation Naturalist, held an evening workshop demonstrating how to make viewing safe for the August 21st event.

It’s being dubbed, “The Great American Eclipse of 2017’ because the event will be visible primarily in the United States, with totality running across the county from west to east.

In Mahaska County, the eclipse will be approximately 94% coverage of the moon blocking out the sun. That 6% of sunlight means that you need to protect your eyes from the damaging sun. “Even though it won’t be a total eclipse, it will still be a good viewing,” said DeCook.

It doesn’t take very long for the permanent damage to happen to your eyes if you stare at the sun, it occurs within a few seconds.

DeCook shared different ways of being able to view the eclipse and different viewfinders that will enable people to enjoy the first total eclipse since 1979 to make its way across the United States.

One viewer included making a viewer out of a packaging tube, with aluminum foil on one end of the tub, with a pinhole placed, so the sun will be projected onto a viewing area on the bottom of the tube. A cutout area is made on the side, near the bottom to enable the viewer to see the progression of the moon as it covers the sun.

There are some spaces left for people to join DeCook and other day campers at the Russell Wildlife Area for the eclipse on the 21st. Pre-registration is required, and the cost is $10.

Call the MCCB at 641.673.9327 to register or for more information.

You can get solar eclipse viewing glasses at Legacy Real Estate. The proceeds from their sales go to help fund a K9 for the Oskaloosa Police Department.