YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Solar Eclipse 2017 is fast approaching and perhaps no group is looking forward to it more than the staff at the Ward Beecher Planetarium at Youngstown State University.

Planetarium Engineer Curt Spivey says this eclipse is significant because it's the first coast to coast eclipse since 1918.

"The first touching of the United States starts in Oregon and it goes all the way across the country and leaves the U.S. in South Carolina.  Every single citizen in the lower forty eight will see some affect of this eclipse," Spivey said.

The path of the eclipse will be about 70 miles wide, and what the valley will actually see will be a partial eclipse shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Monday.

"We're going to have 80 percent of the sun blocked at maximum coverage around 2:33," said Spivey.

If you would like to experience the event with the YSU staff, they are inviting the public to join them at the Metro-Parks experimental farm in Canfield.
 
"We're going to have a few telescopes set up, we will have eclipse shades available for visitors. We are giving them out on a first come first serve," according to Spivey.

They will also be providing pin-hole projection cards, which is simply a card with a pin-hole.  The sunlight will come through that hole and project down on the surface of a piece of paper. 

"All you've  got to do is face away from the sun, put the card up by your ear and put a piece of paper down. You will see an actual  projection of the sun right on there," Spivey said.  It's simple and safe and you can do it at home.

Spivey says the eclipse is more than just a passing event, he says NASA and other agencies will be studying and measuring various aspects of  the eclipse.

"There is all sorts of science that is going to be going on when the eclipse is going on," he said.