Eclipse goggles will be available for sale by Friday - CERSGIS

Accra, Sept. 12, GNA -- The first batch of eclipse goggles is expected to arrive in the country by Thursday to enable Ghanaians to watch the forthcoming partial eclipse on September 22 safely. Dr Emmanuel Amamoo-Otchere, Executive Director of the Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Services (CERSGIS), told the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday that his outfit was ordering about 240,000 eclipse goggles in preparation for the coming annular partial eclipse. An annular eclipse does not produce total obscurity of the sun by the moon so the totality of darkness of such an eclipse is not absolute like the total solar eclipse.

Dr Amamoo-Otchere said CERSGIS would depend on the electronic media houses to help in the distribution of the goggles in Accra and surrounding areas, adding the goggles would be available for sale by Friday, September 15.

=93Credible journalists and media houses would also be given limited quantities to sell as part of their duty to disseminate information to the public.=94

He said the goggles would be distributed mostly in the Northern parts of the country since fewer goggles were sent there during the last eclipse.

CERSGIS would also network with District Chief Executives and District Directors in all the districts to enable communities especially those in the rural areas to have access to the goggles. Dr Amamoo-Otchere said the District Assemblies were also expected to connect with various schools in their districts to help school children to get access to the goggles.

He said it was not solely the responsibility of CERSGIS to order eclipse goggles and encouraged private business people to also order eclipse goggles to be sold to the public.

=93We are linking with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and other radio stations to have a mass education on the phenomenon and prevent any injury to the eye as a result of ignorance.=94 Dr Amamoo-Otchere expressed the wish that the goggles would not be sold beyond 10,000 cedis to enable all Ghanaians to buy the goggles for safe viewing.

An annular eclipse is when the moon is at play with the sun in relation to one's position. Such an eclipse could occur anytime. Ghana experienced a total eclipse of the sun on March 29, 2006. Following the March 29 eclipse this year the CERSGIS prepared video clips to enable television and radio stations to have adequate information to disseminate to the public. Ghana and the whole of West Africa would see the September 22 event partially. CERSGIS said the moon's shadow would not reach the surface of the earth hence the partial darkness. 12 Sept. 06