"It's really cool:" Watch the Great American Solar Eclipse safely next Monday
MILWAUKEE -- It's quite possibly the most anticipated solar eclipse ever -- and it happens on Monday, August 21st.
Casey McGrath
Inside the Manfred Olson Planetarium, the view is always a good one. But next Monday, Casey McGrath will spend the lunch hour with millions of others across the United States.
"It's really cool. I think at this point we've got so much social media and all of this communication and people are really interested in astronomy," McGrath said.
FOX6 News viewed video of the sun on Tuesday, August 15th through a NASA-approved black polymer filter. It's the same kind of material used to make the viewing glasses the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has almost sold out of.
Elisabeth Markman
"We're going to have some telescopes going on with filters on them so you can look at the sun through the filter," said Elisabeth Markman.
UWM is organizing a viewing party for Monday afternoon. Filters allow only a fraction of the sun's light to make it through.
"You want to make sure you have the glasses back on and ready," McGrath said.
But not everyone will be looking up next Monday. Anyone without special glasses can let the trees do the work. Tiny holes in leaves will project images of the eclipse on the ground.
Manfred Olson Planetarium, UW-Milwaukee