Well, it is that time of year. Snow is on its way. But what’s better than having something fun to look forward to after a cold, dark winter?
On April 8, 2024, Buffalo will experience roughly 3 minutes and 45 seconds of a total solar eclipse, which has not happened here since 1925.
It’s a great opportunity, especially for people who can’t travel, to experience a total solar eclipse.
WBFO’s Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins spoke with Charles Fulco, science teacher, and NASA Solar System Ambassador, about how people with disabilities can start thinking ahead to enjoy the solar eclipse.
Key Takeaways
If you have a mobility disability: You can use a telescope or have a friend position a mirror so you can watch the eclipse at a comfortable angle. Make sure to keep your eclipse glasses on before and after totality hits.
If you have fatigue or chronic pain: If you can, lay down a blanket outside and lie on your back. Again, just make sure to wear eclipse glasses before and after totality.
If you are unable to go outside: Try to find a south or south-west facing window. You should be able to see much of the eclipse from the window.
If you don't have or cannot wear eclipse glasses, or cannot look up: Look down! The eclipse will project crescents on the ground, which is another way anyone can enjoy the eclipse.
If you have a visual disability: The eclipse is an incredible sensory experience, and you may feel changes in the weather, as it can get cold or windy and you may hear animals acting differently. If you can experience the eclipse with a friend, they could narrate for you what is visually happening as you feel these temperature and sound changes.
If you need eclipse glasses: According to The Buffalo Museum of Science, you can get two free pairs of eclipse glasses from your local Buffalo & Erie County Library, or to arrange for 10 or more glasses for a group, you can contact the museum’s eclipse coordinator.
TRANSCRIPT:
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Emyle Watkins: To start, Charles, tell me a little bit about you and why you're kind of an expert on eclipses.
Charles Fulco: Well, I saw my first eclipse back in March of 1970. I was a Cub Scout at the time. And I kind of heard about eclipses, but I didn't know quite what to expect. And I was always an avid reader in school. And there wasn't many books about, you know, eclipses and stuff. So, I went out that Saturday morning and watched it, and it was 96% over the New York City area. And it was pretty cool, because things did get a little weird and dim, and the birds became restless, and all the things I read about in the books, and it was really eerie. I never forgot the feeling. Then, I understood that there's this thing called totality, where it gets even, even weirder, and I said, 'Okay, when's that?' And they said, Well, there's one coming to the US in 1979. I'm like, alright, nine years from now, okay. And I never made it to that one. And then a bunch more never made it to. And then finally in 1991, by that time, I had inhaled pretty much every book about eclipses. And in 1991, my family and I went to Mazatlan, Mexico, and we saw six minutes and 52 seconds of totality, which was like it's an unheard of amount. And that amount of time won't be surpassed until 2132.
Emyle Watkins: Now, I will ask, there are people who cannot travel. I mean, I cover people with disabilities, people who are homebound, in group homes, nursing homes, maybe they can get to a window, they can't get outside, or maybe they can get outside, but they can't go very far or have limited mobility. How would you suggest they participate in the eclipse? What are some ways you can watch it, if maybe you can't turn your neck as far or you are, you can only get to a window? Per se.
Charles Fulco: You've just educated me. When I was thinking about my alternative audiences, I was just thinking you know, blind, St. Mary's School for the Deaf, prisons. I wasn't thinking about people with disabilities who may not be able to turn the neck or even look up. So thank you for educating me, just now, it's another thing I have to pursue now.
So you got me thinking I would say a cool way to get around the look up, get a mirror, but it would have but you'd have to put your glasses on because the mirror reflects most of the sunlight and you want to just be careful. So if you could have someone tilt a mirror at somebody who can't crane their neck, but make sure they have the solar eclipse glasses on, that'd be one way. They could also look down on the ground to see the crescents if they can't look up, they can listen to other people's reactions. If they're at a window, make sure it's facing south and the sun is going to be about midway up in the sky for Buffalo. So you want to make sure your window has a good view to the south-southwest. And you want to be able to sit that you could see upward. That's great, though, you know, pop this - throw the screen off, do what you have to do, break, break the glass. You know? I'm all about that stuff.
Emyle Watkins: Maybe don't break the glass in your group home. [both laughing] You can take the screen off.
And I asked that because even thinking about when I watched the last eclipse, me and my dad both have disabilities impact our necks. And so both of us can't, like, put our necks straight up at the sky for too long. And so thinking ahead to this one, I've been thinking like, how - do I like lay on my back? And look up?
Charles Fulco: You can lay on your back! My mother and sister. That was their tradition when we were on an area like with grass or in Mazatlan, they, they had the sand, they immediately laid out and they watched the whole thing and they saw the like a 360 view. They had the best view I think.
Emyle Watkins: So, it's safe to do that?
Charles Fulco: Yeah!
Emyle Watkins: As long as you're wearing your [eclipse] glasses?
Charles Fulco: Yeah! And then, but don't forget once totality hits, and you'll know when it hits because the diamond ring will disappear and the corona will burst out, take those glasses off. You're gonna miss the show. It, to me, they're horror stories. There are stories of people who kept their glasses on through totality. And all they saw was blackness, they didn't see anything. And I'm like, what?
Emyle Watkins: Yeah.
Charles Fulco: And you learn as you go. So one of my things now is to tell people, you'd be really careful about what you say because you don't want to have people take the glasses off too quickly because you know, solar radiation and your retinas and everything. So you want to wait, make sure that last bit of crescent disappears in your solar - your eclipse glasses, and then remove them.
Emyle Watkins: That's awesome.
Charles Fulco: But I like the back, I like laying down with a blanket.
Emyle Watkins: Yeah!
Charles Fulco: You know, April 8, maybe it'll be warm enough, you never know. But thank you for making me think about something I never thought of before.
Emyle Watkins: Well, do you think that's the fact that you're kind of an expert in this and you're still learning as you go, do you think that speaks to what this eclipse is really all about? Which is a learning experience for everyone?
Charles Fulco: Absolutely. I learned from everyone, they're all different. And there's always more to look at. And now I've kind of said put the camera down and please don't take pictures. Your iPhone is not going to take a good picture. Just put the camera down and just absorb it because I discovered I have a really hard time recalling totalities because of the fact they're so otherworldly. Your brain is not used to seeing this happen, your brain can't make sense of what's happening. All you could do is experience it. Some people cry, some people yell, some people do nothing. Some people go into like, a postpartum depression, afterward because it's so beautiful. I don't want to wait nine years to see the next one or whatever, you know. And that's what turns Eclipse lovers into travelers because people think solar eclipses or total eclipses are rare. They're not, there's one about every 18 months somewhere on the globe. But if you think about it, the globe's three-quarters water, it's got mountains, politically unstable countries, and inaccessible polar regions. So it's really a treat when one comes to your neighborhood, like what's going to happen in April. And I would just say, if you want to, especially retirees, if you have the funds and resources and you're healthy, go follow eclipses. I've been to four continents chasing totality. And you plan a whole week around it, or two weeks, or a month. And you learn to learn the language by giving a good excuse to learn the language a little bit and visit historical landmarks. Talk to people who might never have ever seen save for the eclipse, so it's a wonderful excuse to travel. And that's been part of my life for the past 30, 32 years.
Emyle Watkins: Well, it's great to hear. And I've learned today not to take the Eclipse for granted.
Charles Fulco: Never.
Emyle Watkins: So, thank you, and thanks for making the time.
Charles Fulco: Thank you. And remember, we only have a short life, and there's only a finite number of total eclipses in our lives.
