Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: The Premier Eclipse Viewing Location

Join Glen Canyon National Recreation Area staff on May 20 to experience a rare annular eclipse of the sun. Wahweap View, three miles north of the Carl Hayden Visitor Center on US Highway 89, is the park’s official eclipse viewing location.

Rangers and amateur astronomers representing astronomy clubs in Arizona and New Mexico will provide solar telescopes and viewing devices to experience this extraordinary phenomenon.

Wahweap View parking is limited to the first 45 vehicles; no RVs or vehicles with trailers will be permitted on Wahweap View. Visitors are asked to park at the Carl Hayden Visitor Center and ride the free Solar Eclipse Shuttle Bus to Wahweap View that will operate from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. MST. Tour buses will be allowed to drop off passengers on Wahweap View and then be redirected to a satellite parking area.

The eclipse can be easily viewed in many western states but will be especially prominent in Northern Arizona. Because of the accessibility of the mesa tops in and around Glen Canyon and the town of Page, there are many areas that provide unobstructed views of the West.

Beginning at 5:26 p.m. MST, the moon will begin its slow passage in front of the sun and by 6:35 p.m. MST will be at maximum eclipse that blocks the entire solar disk

except for a thin brilliant ring around the edge. Glen Canyon staff will provide safety viewing glasses at Wahweap View since it is essential to wear protective eyewear wherever you plan to view the eclipse.

Other eclipse events will take place in various locations from May 17-May 20. All programs are free to the public. Park entrance fees apply inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

• May 17: 10 a.m-1 p.m. Sidewalk Solar Astronomy at National Bank of Arizona, 58 S Lake Powell Blvd. Rangers and astronomers will set up solar scopes to show our active sun.

• May 18: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Kids and Family Friendly Astronomy Day at Carl Hayden Visitor Center. Rangers and astronomers will have many activities for kids and adults.

• May 19: Noon-1 p.m. Meet and greet astrophysicist Tyler Nordgren at Colorado River Discovery, 130 6th Ave, Page, AZ. Rangers and astronomers

will provide Sidewalk Solar Astronomy during that time.

• May 19: 8 p.m. Evening presentation by astrophysicist Tyler Nordgren at

Wahweap Amphitheater. Star gazing follows presentation. Glen Canyon

National Recreation Area (fee to enter park applies).

• May 20: 10:45-11:45 a.m. Astronomer Steve Dodder presents “The Moon and Its Phases” at the Carl Hayden Visitor Center.

• May 20: 4-7 p.m. Annular Eclipse Wahweap View; gates to Wahweap View open at 3:30 for parking. Free Solar Express shuttle bus provides service 4 p.m. –7 p.m. MST from Carl Hayden Visitor Center to Wahweap View.

Along with dozens of astronomers and equipment to help view the eclipse, rangers will make pinhole cameras to view the eclipse, have solar gadgets to show the power of the sun, and provide eclipse-viewing safety glasses to the first 400 people who come up to Wahweap View.

For additional information contact Ranger Joan Mayer at 928-608-6353

”There are things in the Universe that we cannot see yet they exist There are things in the Universe that we can see that no longer exist Such is the nature of understanding the Universe and oneself.”