Free solar eclipse watch party at MSU Billings

Billings, Montana – The Department of biological and Physical Sciences at Montana State University Billings announced on Tuesday that it will have a solar eclipse watch party on Saturday, October 14.

According to a news release from MSU Billings, this event is free and accessible to the public. It includes multiple chances to observe the partial solar eclipse using telescopes, a solar eclipse citizen project, and presentations on solar astronomy and eclipses.

It will start to eclipse at 9:13 a.m. It will conclude at noon and cover the sun to its fullest extent around 10:30 a.m.

NASA predicts that the eclipse will initially appear in Oregon in the Pacific Northwest before moving through Texas to the southeast. Although Montana won’t witness the total eclipse, astronomers anticipate that Billings will be able to experience a partial blocking of the sun.

The Yellowstone Valley Astronomy Association and the Montana Civil Air Patrol will also be present. They will have telescopes available for the public to watch safely from the campus lawn between the Liberal Arts Building and the College of Education Building.

Apart from the event, a NASA citizen science initiative called the Solar Eclipse Citizen initiative will start at 8 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. Data collection on how the eclipse will impact VHF radio broadcasts is one of the project’s objectives. Yellowstone Radio Club members will assist with the endeavor.

Two ambassadors from the Montana Space Grant Consortium will be present in Library 148 at 12:30 and 11:00 a.m. Every talk will last one hour, with time set up for questions at the conclusion.