Observatory on FSW Charlotte campus open during solar eclipse

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. The observatory at Florida Southwestern State College will have a telescope that will allow people to view the solar eclipse without sustaining eye damage.

The James and Barbara Moore Observatory located at 26300 Airport Road will open to the public at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 21 and admission will be free.

The telescope has a filter on it that is similar to the lenses on the solar eclipse glasses, according to observatory director David Hanson. The filter will block out the harmful rays and will allow viewers to get a clear picture of the celestial event.

“We hope that everybody in the county and everybody in the state and in fact, the whole nation gets a chance to go out and see parts of the eclipse,” Hanson said.

Southwest Florida residents will only see about 78 percent of the eclipse, but Hanson believes it will be worth watching.

“I think it puts us in a little perspective too. We like to think how important are we in the universe,” he said.