The sun will play hide and seek behind the moon Monday, Aug. 21, during a partial eclipse seen from the San Juan Islands.

From the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations data, we will see about an 88 percent eclipse here. Seattle is right on the edge of 95 percent, said Raena Parsons, San Juan National Park education specialist.

Come to the Orcas Library on Aug. 21 to share a once-in-a-lifetime experience with friends and neighbors. The eclipse viewing party will take place on south patio, from start to finish of the event, 9:30 to noon.

We have safe, certified eclipse glasses to use, and will also have materials for and directions on making your own pinhole projector, as well as other eclipse-related crafts, say library staff. And what if its cloudy or hazy that day? The party will go on! We will watch live feed from NASA, enjoy coffee and treats and learn all about what is going on up in the sky.

The Land Bank, Island Rec, the Conservation District, Indigenous Education Institute, OPALCO, Friends of Lime Kiln, the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau, San Juan Island Library, and the San Juan Island National Monument have all pulled together with the national park for a free solstice viewing party at South Beach on San Juan Island. Free shuttles from Friday Harbor to South Beach run from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and return between 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m, as the dance between the sun and moon ends.

While Seattle will have a better view of the eclipse, seeing closer to totality, Parsons has fielded several calls from off-island residents wanting to visit the islands nonetheless.

Many people seek out natural areas for events like this, she said.

Telescopes with solar filters will be available for those attending the party.

If you have never seen an eclipse through a telescope, you should join us and check it out, its incredible, Parsons said.

She added that views should never look at the sun through a telescope without solar filters. You can go blind in seconds, she said about using the telescope.

NASA has also sent out warnings that many eclipse sunglasses found on line are not certified. To see check reputable sunglasses, go to eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/iso-certification.

Parsons added that taking photos of the eclipse without special filters on cameras, including those on phones, like iPhones, can ruin the camera. The park will not have those specific filters available. While research in the journal the Lancet has shown that contrary to popular belief, the majority of people with damage from looking at the sun with the naked eye, known as eclipse retinopathy, are not totally blinded. Never look directly at an eclipse, especially a partial one, Parsons emphasized. While you might go completely blind, looking directly at an eclipse can cause eye issues.

You can really damage your eyes without even feeling it, Parsons warned.

For more safety tips, visit NASAs website http://www.eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety.

To build a viewing projector box, Live Sciences website gives five easy steps:

Step 1. Cut a small hole (about 1 inch across) in one end of the shoe box, near an edge.

Step 2. Tape a piece of tinfoil over the hole.

Step 3. Using a pin or needle, punch a hole in the center of the foil.

Step 4. Tape a small piece of white paper to the inside of the box, at the opposite end from the foil-covered hole. The paper should be positioned so that light entering the box through the pinhole will hit it. This is where youll look for the sun.

Step 5. Cut a 1-inch-diameter hole in the box near the image screen (the white piece of paper), but on a different side of the box the side adjacent to the screen. This is your viewing hole; it must be positioned such that you can look through it at an angle and see the image screen.

When the time comes for the eclipse, hold the shoe box so that it lines up with its own shadow, demonstrating that it is aligned with light from the sun. Stand so that when you look through the viewing hole, you can see a tiny bead of light on the image screen; thats the sun. During the eclipse, youll see the shadow of the moon pass in front of the sun.

You can also make a simple projector screen like this:

Take a sheet of cardboard or heavy paper (or a paper plate). Use a pin, thumbtack or paperclip to make a tiny hole in the center. Make sure the hole is round and smooth.

Put a second sheet of white paper on the ground in front of you. With your back toward the sun, hold the piece of paper with the hole in it so the sun shines through the hole onto the other piece of paper.

You will see an inverted image of the sun projected onto the paper through the pinhole.

To make the image of the sun larger, move the paper with the pinhole in it further away from the paper on the ground.

According to Parsons, the moon will begin to shift in front of the sun at approximately 9:06 a.m. covering 88 percent of the sun at around 10:20 a.m.. The sun returns from hiding by 11:30. While San Juan County may only be seeing a partial eclipse, those living in Oregon will be treated to a full eclipse, as well as those along the narrow, 60-mile wide path of totality stretching from Oregon to South Carolina. The last time there was such an eclipse, from the Pacific Coast of America to the Atlantic Coast, was June of 1918, according to NASAs website. It has also been dubbed the Great American Eclipse, because no other country will see it as a total eclipse. The next time a total solar eclipse occurs in the United States is April 8, 2024. According to Parsons, the path of that eclipse runs from Texas to Maine. Washington should see a 66 percent partial eclipse, so the event known as Great American Eclipse is the one to watch.

I love anything that has to do with the skies and solar system, and sharing it with people, she said.

The rest is here:

Once in a lifetime experience: partial eclipse on Aug. 21 - Islands' Sounder