Hello!

This coming Saturday Oct. 14, an annular solar eclipse will be visible in North, Central, and South
America. Although its path of totality over North America is limited to the U.S. – from Oregon
through to Texas – here in the Lower Mainland we will see a partial eclipse where the Moon will
cover a maximum 76% of the Sun.

KPU Faculty of Science and Horticulture instructors are organizing the KPU Solar Eclipse Party
2023, a free public eclipse viewing event in Richmond from 8:00 to 10:30 am. Guests can safely
view the eclipse with telescopes and other equipment, and check out displays and activities about
our solar system.

This is a fun learning experience for all ages, but in particular, we are reaching out to students in
the elementary and secondary schools around our Richmond campus.

Some of the activities are:
• A scale model of the solar system extending 68 m which students can walk thru to get a
sense of the vast distances between the planets.
• Students can build a hand-held spectroscope and use it to split light into its component
wavelengths and learn how this technique is used to study the atmospheric composition of
distant planets.
• Students will use math to calculate the size of the shadow cast by the Moon on the Earth
• Students will learn if anything can actually be grown in the Martian “soil”
• Info about research on genetic sequencing and astronaut health in space missions will also
be available to engage students

Details are available at https://www.kpu.ca/solareclipse and the accompanying poster.
If it rains on Oct. 14, our event will take place on the ground floor of the Main building on KPU
Richmond campus. We’re hoping for good weather and that you can join us at KPU Farm outside!

See you there,

Laura Flinn
Instructor, Principal Organizer of KPU Solar Eclipse Party 2023
Physics Dept., KPU