SENECA – A once-in-a-lifetime cosmic phenomenon is headed upstate South Carolina’s way, and Duke Energy’s World of Energy at Oconee Nuclear Station wants to help you get ready.
That’s why, on Oct. 25 at 10 a.m., the World of Energy is hosting a lecture by Clemson University Physicist Dr. Donald Liebenberg, one of the country’s foremost researchers of the science of solar eclipses.
The lecture is one of the World of Energy’s seasonal Super Tuesday events, and is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served, and door prizes awarded.
Liebenberg’s presentation will focus on the history of total solar eclipses; what scientific data has been collected and its implications; and how residents of the upstate can safely view what is being called the Great American Total Solar Eclipse, which takes place on Aug. 21, 2017.
The World of Energy is directly beneath its path, meaning that on that afternoon, a total solar eclipse will be visible for nearly three full minutes.
Liebenberg, an adjunct professor in the Clemson University Department of Physics, has studied solar eclipses for more than 40 years, including direct observations of more than 20 total solar eclipses across the world. In 1973, as a staff member at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, Liebenberg led a study aboard the Concord supersonic jet, taking scientific measurements in an eclipse’s path of totality – or region where the sun is completely obscured by the moon, with only its corona visible – for several hours.
Liebenberg’s presentation is just the beginning. Events and activities at the World of Energy throughout 2017 will have the Great American Total Solar Eclipse as its theme, including a quilt show by local artisans who are incorporating the scientific phenomena into their designs. Other events are being planned, and the World of Energy is already full of books, informational pamphlets and decorations highlighting the Great American Total Solar Eclipse.
It’s all designed to make the World of Energy Upstate South Carolina’s headquarters for the Great American Total Solar Eclipse.
“For many this is a once-in-lifetime event,” said Chris Rimel, World of Energy manager and communications manager for Duke’s South Carolina nuclear fleet. “The eclipse fits well into the World of Energy’s education mission – we’re inviting people from across the Upstate to watch the eclipse from the World of Energy’s three-acre front lawn; I’m hopeful the lawn will be packed with people watching the sky that afternoon.”
Rimel said it all fits into his plan for the World of Energy to be a base of operations for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“It’s exciting because the opportunity to offer the World of Energy as the headquarters for eclipse learning in a fun and engaging way. Personally, I’m thrilled to be at the right place at the right time to witness this phenomenal event.”
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