Gordon State College professor to lead solar eclipse experience

The sun spotter, an instrument utilizing lenses and mirrors, projects a 3.5-inch image of the sun, enabling safe observation. It eliminates the necessity for purchasing eclipse glasses. However, Schmude emphasizes the importance of never looking directly at the sun without certified eclipse glasses.

Across Middle Georgia, a partial solar eclipse is expected to be visible from approximately 1:45 p.m. to around 4:22 p.m. Monday, with over 70% of the sun blocked by the moon at around 3 p.m. Schmude will have the sun spotter set up and ready at 1:40 p.m., and it will remain available, weather permitting, until 3:30 p.m.

Schmude encourages campus attendees to capture images of tree and bush shadows at the 3 p.m. mark during the partial solar eclipse. He said several small crescents should be visible.

“I remember being fascinated by the tree shadows over 30 years ago during a partial solar eclipse at Texas A&M University. During the 2017 solar eclipse, the temperature of the sidewalk dropped over 15 degrees Fahrenheit because of the eclipse,” Schmude said.

Schmude recommends the Astronomical Almanac as the top resource for solar eclipse information.

“What captivates me about the solar eclipse is the profound dependence our planet has on the sun,” Schmude said.

Here in Griffin-Spalding, Monday will be a normal school day for the Griffin-Spalding County School System.

According to GSCS, school operations, including check-in and check-out procedures, and all extra-curricular and athletic events will continue as normal.

To ensure a safe school day and dismissal, solar-viewing glasses will be provided to all Pre-K through 12th-grade students and teachers.

Additional instructional activities and resources can be found at gscs.org.