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Georgia Tech to host on-campus viewing; among other events for solar eclipse

By Carl Willis
By Carl Willis

The Georgia Tech community is getting ready for the total solar eclipse.

Channel 2 Action News reporter Carl Willis found out the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle actually coincides with the first day of classes.

"It's a wonderful time to be excited about science, to enjoy the experience together, but to also look at the science behind eclipses," said Dean Paul Goldbart with the Georgia Tech College of Sciences.

The university is embracing all that the eclipse has to offer and the events are open to the public.

There will be a group viewing on campus at the Kessler Campanile -- and a live stream broadcasting across the world.

"We're going to have fun but we're going to do a little bit of science too," said Georgia Tech astronomer Jim Sowell.

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Sowell showed Willis the special lens they'll use to view the sun through this telescope and the tried and true pinhole in a shoe box, method that everyone can try at home.

These experts say take advantage because this event, this close to home is once-in-a-lifetime.

"It is a celestial dance. If you just want to stay in Atlanta and wait for the next one, now you're talking about 500 years," he said.

Darkened skies, a drop in temperature and animals thinking it's bedtime are just part of the experience when the moon blocks 97 percent of the sun's disk Monday afternoon.

"That's just a tiny bit of sun. So, it's going to probably be more of an overcast as opposed to a nighttime but it could be enough that street lights are going to come on," Sowell said.

WSB-TV is your home for everything Total Solar Eclipse. We’ll have exclusive content and everything you need to know leading up to the big day on Aug. 21!

Then, when the Total Solar Eclipse crosses through the United States, make sure you’re relying on Channel 2 Action News for complete LIVE coverage from across the country!

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