Plan to put down your ebikes and ebooks.

Put off doing emails and put on your safety glasses.

Let the total eclipse grab your total attention on the afternoon of April 8.

The four-minute eclipse will be “a soul-searching experience,” predicts Wes Tobin, Ed.D., assistant professor of physics at Indiana University East.

The event is “very rare,” said Phil Plait, a famous astronomer, blogger and science communicator, during an eclipse-focused talk to a large crowd in Vivian Auditorium on Feb. 27.

“Be there for it. Exist for this event. Look up. Listen.”

The skies will go dark as the moon blocks the sun from 3:08:01 to 3:11:51 in the afternoon. Stars and planets will become visible, as will the sun’s corona. Many birds will stop chirping.

Plait said during his informative and humorous presentation that he was amazed to experience the eclipse that took place on August 21, 2017.

“I was in awe. It was overwhelming,” he said.

That was the first since 1918 where the path of totality occurred coast to coast in the United States and the first since 1776 that was exclusively seen in the U.S.

Expert calculations show that the next total eclipse after April 8 isn’t expected around Indiana until 2099. To put that in perspective, a 20-year-old student today would be 95 then.

Tobin is enthralled, too, by the eclipses and by their rarity. He’s excited that the upcoming one will last two minutes longer than the one in 2017.

He will lead a variety of sol-covering festivities that will be taking place April 8 on campus – including setting up at least three telescopes and guiding viewers with announcements as the eclipse darkens the sky.

The campus will not hold classes that day, but students, staff and visitors are invited to take part.

Eye safety will be emphasized through handouts and a video produced by Tobin.

“My main focus is making sure the community is prepared on what to expect and how to do it safely,” he said.

He’ll be announcing during the entire eclipse, advising when to use special glasses and when it’s OK to take them off.

Medical experts say eyes can be permanently damaged by watching eclipses and the minutes before and after.

There will be safety lecture dates that are intended to help people be prepared for the eclipse and viewing.
-Tuesday, March 19 – 11:15-12:15 p.m. in Vivian Auditorium.
-Monday, March 25 – 4-5 p.m. in Vivian Auditorium.
-Thursday, March 28 – 9-10 a.m. in Whitewater Lobby.

The Solar walk will also be available April 4 and 5.  Join us for an astronomer-guided tour of the Solar System. Meet in the Whitewater Hall lobby. Open to campus and community. RSVP at tinyurl.com/IUEsolar.

Tobin will present a lecture about the eclipse on April 8 from 11 a.m. to noon in Vivian Auditorium. Safety glasses designed specifically for IU East will be given out for free starting at 11 a.m. in Whitewater Hall.

Participants are invited to do the following that day at their own pace:
– A Solar Walk on the path that starts at the main entrance.
– Space movies at a watch party that will take place in the Whitewater lobby.
– A scavenger hunt. Sheets will be available in Whitewater between noon to 1 p.m. and should be returned by 2:15 p.m.

The Brewfus coffee shop in Springwood Hall and The Den dining area in Whitewater Hall will both be open for business that day.

Tobin said he advises that people check out the one-of-a-kind eclipse for a minute or more before trying to take photos or view it through a telescope. That way they won’t miss seeing it if their equipment doesn’t work the way they want.

The event is so anticipated that tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on Richmond, Wayne County and the region.