Apr. 7—CUMBERLAND — A solar eclipse makes Michala Garrison feel connected to humans throughout time that have seen such an event, even before people understood what was happening.

“They’re a wonder,” she said of the crossing of celestial bodies. “It reminds me of how small we are, but I feel like it brings communities together.”

Garrison, a Cumberland native, is a NASA scientific data visualizer.

She recently used calculations her coworker produced to create a map that shows where the moon’s shadow will cross the U.S. during the 2023 annular solar eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse.

The map, which published online March 8, took roughly six months to complete, she said.

“It does feel a little shocking,” Garrison said of her sense of pride from seeing her work on a NASA website.

Viewers can search for their city on the map, she said.

“I wanted to include a lot of information, but not be overwhelming … for the reader,” Garrison said.

“This map was a unique experience,” she said and added she and a small team work on the daily NASA project, Earth Observatory.

Garrison said she’s “very excited” to witness a total eclipse for the first time and plans to view the event likely in upstate New York.

“Ever since making the map I’ve been told how amazing a total solar eclipse is,” she said and added she saw a partial eclipse in 2017. “Even that was really cool.”

She has been a NASA employee since 2021 and works from her home in Portland, Oregon.

Garrison, 27, is a 2015 Fort Hill High School graduate and attended Frostburg State University where she majored in geography before she went to graduate school at the University of Oregon.

Her cartography graphics training began at FSU, she said.

“I really got my start at Frostburg State University,” Garrison said. “I’m really glad I went there and found the geography department and all the wonderful professors that made me feel comfortable and supported.”

Glasses

Allegany County Public Schools board member Lori Lepley owns the downtown Cumberland shop Toil & Trouble, which has been selling eclipse glasses for $1.49.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime eclipse,” she said and added the items generated interest among shoppers. “We wanted to be prepared.”

According to NASA, except for a specific and brief period of time during a total solar eclipse, “you must never look directly at the sun without proper eye protection, such as safe solar viewing glasses.”

Eclipse glasses are not the same as regular sunglasses — which are not safe for viewing the sun, the organization’s website states.

“During a total solar eclipse, you must wear your eclipse glasses, or use other solar filters, to view the sun directly during the partial eclipse phase,” it states. “You can only take your glasses off during the short time when the moon completely obscures the sun, known as the period of totality.”

Research

Mary Bowden is a senior lecturer and aerospace engineering and Keystone instructor, and director of the Maryland Space Grant Consortium Balloon Payload Program at the Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland College Park.

Last month, she led a group of students through a practice launch of research balloons in an Allegany College of Maryland parking lot.

On Monday, they will participate in the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, which includes the release of balloons that carry scientific instruments.

“We will actually be launching two balloons on April 8th somewhere near Fort Wayne, Indiana, so that our balloons can be in the path of totality during the eclipse,” Bowden said.

“Some of the data we are gathering and most of the imagery requires that we actually be in the path, so unfortunately, we won’t be in Maryland,” she said.

“We will, however, be livestreaming from our launch site and hopefully, if we’re successful, from the balloon,” Bowden said.

She typically leads six to eight balloon launches per year.

“When the jet stream has a strong west to east component, our favorite most westerly launch site is Cumberland, so that the balloon and payloads can travel over 100 miles eastward and still land short of the (Chesapeake Bay) and the Susquehanna River,” Bowden said.

“During the summer, the winds aloft tend to be calmer, so we usually launch further east, around Hagerstown for example,” she said.

SchoolsAllegany County Public Schools will dismiss students three hours early Monday “due to the solar eclipse,” according to a brief statement on the school system’s website Friday.

The Garrett County Public Schools website provided two weeks’ notice of its plan for the eclipse.

“The peak time of the eclipse will occur during student dismissal,” it stated. “We encourage parents and guardians to discuss safety precautions with their children during this event … it is important to remember that looking directly at the sun during an eclipse can cause permanent eye damage.”

To ensure safety during the eclipse, GCPS recommended parents discuss with children the following safety precautions:

—Do not look directly at the sun during the eclipse, even if you are wearing sunglasses or using a camera or telescope.

—Use special eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers that meet international safety standards to view the eclipse.

—If you cannot access special glasses, you can create a pinhole projector or use a colander to project the eclipse image onto a piece of paper.

—Avoid reflective surfaces, such as water or shiny metal, which can reflect the sun’s rays and cause eye damage.

Mineral County, West Virginia, schools will dismiss three hours early due to the solar eclipse estimated to occur during the regularly scheduled dismissal and bus runs.

“To ensure students can safely view the eclipse with proper eyewear and family supervision we are dismissing early to allow everyone time to get home and ready for the event,” the school system’s website stated. “This will not impact evening activities.”

Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.