Austin Community College District’s (ACC) Astronomy Department invites you to watch the solar eclipse on Saturday, October 14, at ACC! 

The college invites students, staff, faculty, and the community to gather at ACC Round Rock Campus from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Guests can watch the eclipse through protected telescopes and binoculars on campus. ACC astronomers will be on-site to answer questions and guide activities. Eclipse glasses are recommended (but not required for looking through the telescope). The maximum eclipse visible from the Round Rock Campus (88% of the sun is covered by the moon) happens at 11:54 a.m.

“Solar eclipses are infrequent occurrences, observable exclusively from specific regions on Earth, and their duration typically spans just a few minutes,” says Michael Endl, ACC associate professor of Astronomy. “Such an eclipse happens when the moon moves in front of the sun, obscuring its surface and projecting a shadow onto the Earth’s terrain. It’s a special opportunity to watch this happen. The eclipse on Saturday will only be partial, which means that the moon will not cover the entire visible surface of the sun. It is still too bright to look at the sun without any protection. Please bring your eclipse glasses if you have them. We have filters for our telescopes and binoculars. The eclipse next year will be more spectacular, because it is a total solar eclipse. ”

This total solar eclipse will happen on April 8, 2024, and will be fully visible from almost all ACC campuses. The Astronomy Department is planning a series of events leading up to the event. Almost all ACC campuses will be in the direct path of the total solar eclipse. 

To get started in a career in Astronomy, visit austincc.edu/astronomy.

Tags: astronomy, Eclipse, Round Rock Campus, Solar Eclipse, telescopes