August 19, 2016
Media Advisory -- Eclipse One-Year Countdown
Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover an event at Southern Illinois University Carbondale this weekend marking the one-year point until the 2017 total solar eclipse.
“Eclipse 2017: One Year Countdown” is set for the evening of Sunday, Aug. 21, at the Student Center Auditorium. The free event, which begins at 6 p.m., will feature videos and a movie about eclipses, as well as information on the 2017 eclipse, followed by an invitation to night sky observations later that evening. Organizers hope to use the event as an opportunity to educate the public and new students on what to expect a year from now and how to get involved.
SIU is gearing up to play a major role in the Aug. 21, 2017, eclipse, which will feature the first total solar eclipse over the mainland United States since 1979. The eclipse viewing path and shadow that day will sweep across the country from northwest to southeast, with its point of greatest duration a few miles south of Carbondale. Officials expect thousands of people to descend on the campus for the happening. The university, which is partnering with NASA Eclipse 2017 and Chicago’s Adler Planetarium on eclipse-related activities, has been planning for the event for two years.
More information about the event can be found here.