Published on August 8, 2017 by Sean Flynt  
Eclipse
Alabama Summer Skies: Great American Solar Eclipse shows will explain and preview the event.

Samford University’s Christenberry Planetarium is presenting a series of free public shows in advance of this month’s historic total eclipse of the sun.

Samford will not host eclipse viewing parties, but planetarium director David Weigel will present five of his “Alabama Summer Skies: Great American Solar Eclipse” shows Aug. 10, 11 and 17. Free eclipse viewing glasses will be available to audiences courtesy of Samford’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences.

Weigel said demand for the eclipse shows has been so great that he might have to add new viewing opportunities. The planetarium Facebook page features the latest schedule updates and information.

For those who can’t attend one of the planetarium shows, Weigel suggests buying eclipse viewing glasses at greatamericaneclipse.com or making a pinhole camera. The latter, he said, consists of a hole of approximately 3 mm cut in a piece of cardboard or paper. The paper, held to the sky, projects the image of the eclipse onto the ground for safe viewing. Of course, severe injury can result from looking directly at the sun without using the special glasses, even during a total eclipse.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.