Crowd gathering Monday afternoon outside Westport Library for watch party hosted by Westport Astronomical Society. Sean Smith, photo upper right, sets up a telescope. / Photos by Gary and Gretchen Webster
Crowd anticipates solar eclipse outside Westport Library. At right, Stuart Smith.
Lynne Perrigo, a  children’s librarian, sets up a clothesline with safety glasses so those who don’t have a pair can “borrow” glasses to safely view the eclipse if Westport Library’s supply ran out.

WESTPORT — A threat of partially cloudy skies this afternoon has not eclipsed local enthusiasm for the sky-watching event of a generation: a near-total solar eclipse expected to hit peak viewing over Westport about 3:30 p.m. Monday.

A crowd has gathered outside the Westport Library, where members of the Westport Astronomical Society have assembled telescopes and cameras to record — and share with the public — prime views of the rare celestial phenomenon as the moon passes between Earth and the sun.

If local skies are not obscured by clouds, spectators should be treated to an eclipse view at about 91 percent totality. A total solar eclipse won’t be visible from this region again until May 1, 2079.

Follow the path of the eclipse as the moon shadows the sun progessing across North America live via the NASA YouTube channel.

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