The Next Great American Eclipse

Come learn about the upcoming Great American Eclipse 2024. On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will sweep across North America from Mazatlán, Mexico, through the United States and eastern Canada.

At maximum, 2:08 pm on April 8, the sun will be 90% eclipsed in Wisconsin. The partial eclipse begins here at 12:52pm and ends at 3:22 pm, 2 ½ hours of celestial wonder.

At this program, learn how an eclipse works: a partial solar eclipse, which is what we will see here in Milwaukee; an annular eclipse, like the one that was visible in the American southwest in October 2023; and the most spectacular of all, a total solar eclipse. We will discuss where you can go to see the 2024 total eclipse – a truly magnificent experience. We will also look at the different types of lunar eclipses, as these are more frequent and require very little equipment to observe.

We will explore the wealth of information, pictures, and videos available on-line, from NASA.gov to the very user friendly timeanddate.com. Most importantly, we will discover a variety of ways to observe the solar eclipse safely using a pin-hole camera, eclipse glasses, solar filters, and welder glass, and learn how to photograph an eclipse in both still and video. A short home video taken during totality on a trip to view a total eclipse in Zimbabwe, Africa, in 2001 will be shared.

Presenter Kathy Brehmer studied Astronomy and Physics in college and has been to three total solar eclipses: 1998, on the island of Aruba off the coast of Venezuela; 2001, Zimbabwe, Africa; and 2017, Lincoln, Nebraska. Kathy loves sharing her passion for space and has taught a variety of astronomy and space related programs for Schlitz Audubon and UWM’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Topics have included eclipse programs, the James Webb Space Telescope, 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and programs that explore our solar system and the universe at large.

Members: $17 | Non-members: $23