On April 8, 2024, the long awaited solar eclipse, a phenomenon where the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, created an interesting view for students and faculties at Kent to see. The eclipse started to occur towards the end of the academic day at around 2:15 pm with many students and faculty looking up at the sky through their glasses hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse. 

Safety was a priority throughout the eclipse, as looking at the sun while the eclipse was happening can cause permanent damage to one’s retina. When asked about the safety precautions,  Dr.Lefebvre said “the biggest thing is educating people about the potential for eye injury. During an eclipse, it starts to get dark as there are less sun rays, so you don’t turn away from the sun. So people actually watch the eclipse like a movie. That’s not ok. They spend 5 or 10 minutes watching this movie with the sunrays burning your retina.” 

Eclipse blindness can manifest itself in the form of blurry or distorted vision. Further symptoms include headaches and increased sensitivity to light.

Unfortunately, the cloudy sky made it hard for Kent residents to see the eclipse in full. Nevertheless  the spectacle, which will not occur again in this region 2044, when current students will be in their thirties, still attracted lots of interest around campus.