The lawn outside the DuPoint Planetarium on the University of South Carolina Aiken campus drew a throng of spectators to watch the partial eclipse, Monday afternoon.
The Ruth Patrick Science Center (RPSC) opened the planetarium up to visitors at about 1:50 p.m. Members of the Astronomy Club of Augusta and the USCA Aiken Astronomy Club were alongside RPSC staff with a variety of special telescopes and other devices to observe the eclipse.
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Some telescopes were fitted with solar covers to protect observers’ eyes and one was connected to a computer projector. One device, called a Sunspotter, makes the eclipse’s progress visible through a series of lenses and mirrors.
Attendees could also watch the event inside the facility via a live feed. On Friday, RPSC Director Gary Senn left for Texas, where the eclipse began. Monday morning, amid cloudy weather, he drove four hours to Arkansas to get a better view for the livestream.
The RPSC began selling eclipse glasses in the second week of March, recalls administrative specialist Tabitha McGlocklin. The stock of some 2,500 units of protective eyewear sold slowly until the day of the eclipse, when visitors waited nearly three hours outside to secure pairs.
“Up until this morning, I would venture to say we probably had maybe a little over 2,000 left,” McGlocklin said. “Shortly before 11:30, all of them were gone.”
Jasmine Preston, who works at the university, brought her husband and two children to watch the eclipse.
“Our [older] daughter was super young when it happened in 2017, and she didn’t get the chance to experience it,” said Preston. “So now that she’s a little older, she may appreciate it. She loves science.”
Stacy Baldwin decided to bring her children to visit the planetarium again after attending its Mystery of the Christmas Star show last December.
“They loved going up and looking through the telescope,” said Baldwin. “It’s been really cool to see it here versus from our house.”
Baldwin’s family couldn’t get solar glasses for everyone, but thanks to the generosity of fellow onlookers, that didn’t hamper the experience.
““We did not get our own pair, but we’ve been sharing out there, which has worked out nicely.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
