HARRISBURG, Pa. — When the sun, moon and earth align, Mary Oliveira says Harrisburg’s Whitaker Center for the Sciences and Arts gets to shine.
"This is really what our mission is all about, that intersection of art and science," the president and CEO of the institute said.
Oliveira and the staff at the Whitaker Center are hosting a solar eclipse watch party featuring lessons from its NASA Solar System Ambassador Kristin James.
"We're right in a perfect pathway, here in Pennsylvania, to get a great glimpse of what's going on," Oliveira said.
From 3:18 p.m. to 3:21 p.m., south-central Pa. is expected to be at max viewing, with roughly 92-93 percent coverage, depending on your exact location.
If you’re going to look at it, you’re going to want NASA-approved eclipse glasses to avoid damage to your eyes.
Special shades aren’t the only tool Mark Deckard and the York County Astronomical Society have in their tool shed.
"We'll be set up out here in the grassy area with a couple of solar telescopes, a couple of these," Deckard said pointing to a special device called the Seestar. "Then we have the low-tech [Solarscope] that works very well."
The organization will have several ways set up at their observatory in John Rudy Park to get a safe glimpse of the moon passing the sun.
"Our whole goal is to get astronomy, which includes not just night but some daytime, to get it out to the public [and] to try to get them educated and excited," Deckard said.
If you're taking Monday's solar display to socialize, Tellus360 is going to be hosting a watch party.
"We're excited for this eclipse like everyone else," co-owner Bill Speakman said. "We like to enjoy things like this with our friends and neighbors and our community and maybe a drink in hand."
The bar plans to open its rooftop patio at 1 p.m. and hand out eclipse viewing glasses to the first 50 people in the door. Oliveira says it’s a moment you don’t want to miss.
"It is a monumental moment in science and time," she said. "It doesn’t happen very often."
The next solar eclipse, after tomorrow's, will be visible over the U.S. in 2044.