What you need to know for the solar eclipse

Laura Peters
The News Leader
Vision Source solar eclipse glasses sold at Precision Eye Care in Mt. Juliet have been recalled.

The area and the rest of the country is gearing up for the Aug. 21 solar eclipse and what is coming to be known as the Great American Eclipse. So do you know what to do for it?

For our area, the eclipse will start at around 1 p.m., reach the max after 2:30 p.m. and end by 4 p.m. — around the same time that South Carolina will see it. But, for our area, it won't be a total solar eclipse, just a partial.

Want to participate? Here's an eclipse playlist! Add some celestial songs to it!

What time will the 2017 solar eclipse start in Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina? This chart shows the time the eclipse begins in some of the biggest cities in the path of totality. Information courtesy of NASA

Where can I buy or get glasses?

According to the American Astronomical Society here are a list of retailers where you can find eclipse glasses.

At Staunton Public Library you must attend the class to get the glasses. 

Cardboard frames for solar eclipse glasses are stacked in the American Paper Optics factory in Bartlett, Tenn., on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. The company is one of many businesses, hotels, campgrounds and stores taking advantage of the total solar eclipse , when the moon passes between Earth and the sun. The moon's shadow will fall in a diagonal ribbon across the U.S., from Oregon to South Carolina.

More:Vendors may be selling 'fake' solar eclipse glasses. Here's how to make sure yours are real.

Retail Chains

  • 7-Eleven
  • Best Buy
  • Bi-Mart
  • Casey's General Store
  • Circle K
  • Hobby Town
  • Kirklands
  • Kroger
  • London Drugs
  • Love's Travel Stops
  • Lowe's
  • Pilot/Flying J
  • REI 
  • Toys "R" Us
  • Walmart

Also, according to American Astronomical Society here are online retailers:

Online & Other Vendors

  • 123 Sales
  • 2017Solar.com
  • 3Dstereo.com
  • Educational Innovations
  • Electronic Analyst
  • Firefly Buys (FFB)
  • Fred Meyer
  • Freedom Hill
  • Mega-Fun Toys
  • Off the Wall Toys & Gifts
  • Run to Shop
  • Skyhawk Ventures
  • Solar Eclipse Spectacles (paper glasses only)
  • Soluna/GSM Sales
  • Squirrellynuts
  • ThinkGeek
  • Your 5 Star General Store

More:New farmers market; two businesses expand — The buzz

What are the local events?

  • The Staunton Public Library will host a Solar Eclipse Viewing Party at 2 p.m., Monday, August 21, and will provide special eclipse viewing glasses to those who attend the event.

  • Waynesboro Public Library will have glasses available the day of the eclipse as well as a special program story time for children and a special program for adults starting at 1 p.m. 

  • Friday, Aug. 18 at 4 p.m. — James Webb Space Telescope: NASA's Successor to Hubble Space Telescope

  • Saturday, Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. — Evening Ranger Talk: The Last Frontier

  • Saturday, Aug. 19 at 8:30 p.m. — Big Meadows Evening Program: The Lives of Stars

  • Sunday, Aug. 20 at 8:30 p.m. — Big Meadows Evening Program: Stories in the Stars

  • On the day of the solar eclipse you can join a ranger at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 4.6) and Byrd Visitor Center (mile 51) or watch from anywhere on Skyline Drive (admission to get in the park $25 per vehicle).

Have an event? Email reporter Laura Peters at lpeters@newsleader.com.

What is it?

It's being called the Great American Eclipse, because it crosses over the entire country — starting in Oregon. This will also be the first total solar eclipse to sweep across the entire country in 99 years, according to NASA. And not since the 1970s has there been an opportunity to see a total solar eclipse in such easily accessible and widespread areas of the nation.

The entire U.S. will see at least a partial eclipse, but to see the total eclipse, you must be inside the 70-mile-wide path of totality. 

About 200 million people are within just one day's drive of the totality zone.

According to NASA, a solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the sun and Earth and blocks all or part of the sun for up to about three hours, from beginning to end, as viewed from a given location. 

For this eclipse, the longest period when the moon completely blocks the sun from any given location along the path will be about two minutes and 40 seconds, NASA said.

More:Honey bee population up in 2017

This eclipse, the path — where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun's tenuous atmosphere (the corona) can be seen — will stretch from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina, NASA said. There are 14 states within the complete solar eclipse totality path.

Here are some safety tips from NASA:

  • Looking directly at the sun is unsafe except during the brief total phase of a solar eclipse or totality, when the moon entirely blocks the sun’s bright face, which will happen only within the narrow path of totality 
  • The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun.
  • To date four manufacturers have certified that their eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for such products: Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical and TSE 17.
  • Always inspect your solar filter before use; if scratched or damaged, discard it. Read and follow any instructions printed on or packaged with the filter. Always supervise children using solar filters.
  • Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking up at the bright sun. After glancing at the sun, turn away and remove your filter — do not remove it while looking at the sun.
  • Do not look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical device. Similarly, do not look at the sun through a camera, a telescope, binoculars or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will damage the filter and enter your eyes, causing serious injury. Seek expert advice from an astronomer before using a solar filter with a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device.
  • If you are within the path of totality, remove your solar filter only when the Moon completely covers the sun’s bright face and it suddenly gets quite dark. Experience totality, then as soon as the bright sun begins to reappear, replace your solar viewer to glance at the remaining partial phases

Afraid of weather? Nasa will be Livestreaming the event at Nasa.gov. Plus, the next solar eclipse (a partial eclipse) will be in 2024.

Follow Laura Peters@peterslaura and@peterpants. You can reach her at lpeters@newsleader.com or 213-9125.