NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Theo Wellington grew up with her head to the heavens.
"I'm a child of the space age," Wellington said. "When I was growing up we were going to the moon, and we all thought we'd grow up to be astronauts or maybe we'd be living and working in space."
Today, Wellington is the president of Dark Sky Tennessee, and it's what's going to happen next week that has her so excited: a partial solar eclipse.
We all remember the sights from seven years ago. And while Nashville won't be in the path of totality this year, Wellington says there are fun ways to enjoy the eclipse's effects, even if you don't have a pair of viewing glasses, including looking at the light through a collander.
"It is actually a great way to watch a partial eclipse, you can hold it and it projects little circles, usually, but on eclipse day they're little crescent suns," Wellington said.
You can also create a pinhole viewer out of a shoebox, or even see the crescent suns made through the holes of a saltine cracker!
"Kids can punch their name into a piece of paper or cardboard with a pin and let the light fall through and now your name is spelled out in little tiny suns," Wellington said.
Of course, those glasses would be the only way to look at the eclipse directly.
But Wellington says these tips can extend your viewing fun throughout the day next week.
“I’ve never met anyone like Tennie.”
That’s how one neighbor at Stones River Manor in Murfreesboro describes Tennie Fitzpatrick, who has mastered as many as seven different musical instruments. Each day, Tennie shares those talents with residents, workers and visitors. It’s an ability Tennie herself believes is “a gift from God.” That’s because Tennie is blind, and overcame a difficult, abusive childhood. Forrest Sanders shares this truly inspirational story.
- Rhori Johnston
