On Monday, August 21, 2017, the entire North American continent will experience a solar eclipse!

WHAT CAN SCOUTS DO WITH THE ECLIPSE?  Plenty! There is a unique BSA 2017 Solar Eclipse patch that can be earned for your participation.  For the Scouts in Troop 169 this eclipse will likely be the only time you can earn this patch.

The requirements to earn the BSA 2017 Solar Eclipse patch are simple:

1. Locate a site suitable for viewing either the total eclipse or the partial eclipse.

2. Describe how to safely view the eclipse.

3. Discuss with your group what you saw and felt during the eclipse. If you can, post your comments and eclipse photos on social media with the hashtag #BSAEclipse2017.

4. Draw a diagram of the moon, earth, and sun to show how the solar eclipse happens.

Scouts can earn the patch whether they view the total or partial eclipse, rain or shine. Be prepared—rain and clouds happen!

On the path of totality, it will be dark even on a rainy day. Scouts will be able to detect the change in darkness even on an overcast day, but in the areas away from totality it will not be as evident.  We encourage Scouts and their units to live stream the NASA feed to see the eclipse, whether or not they are in the path of totality.

Scouts can show that they participated in an event even if weather prevents them from directly viewing the eclipse. They could watch it on a live feed over the internet or post their GPS coordinates showing where they were. Use the hashtag #BSAEclipse2017 to show your participation in the event.

Remember, an eclipse happens again on April 8, 2024! This time the path of totality will stretch from Texas to Maine. Residents of Carbondale, Illinois, will be on the center line of two amazing eclipses in a span of less than seven years. Following the 2024 eclipse, there will not be another one in the United States until 2045.

For more information:  http://www.scouting.org/eclipse2017.aspx