Rangeley will be celebrating International Dark Sky Week and hosting a Shadow of the Sun Festival to celebrate the total solar eclipse in April.
From April 2-8, Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust will sponsor daily events celebrating International Dark Sky Week, encouraging the community to enjoy the night sky.
The week will culminate with the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce’s Shadow of the Sun Festival from April 5-8, celebrating the total solar eclipse.
Hidden in Maine’s western Mountains, Rangeley is surrounded by 200,000 acres of conserved land.
Huge swaths of uninhabited forest stretch from Madrid Township to Lac Megantic, north of the Canadian border, making our region one of the darkest places left on the East Coast.
“Maine’s night skies are the darkest east of the Mississippi River. Our night sky is celebrated as a shared heritage that benefits all living things internationally. The Total Solar Eclipse will draw thousands of people to Rangeley, and we will be here making people aware of the issues and how they can act locally,” said Amanda Laliberte, the program director for Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust.
On April 8, the moon will cast its shadow across a stretch of the U.S., Mexico and Canada, plunging millions of people into midday darkness.
Several Maine counties are expected to have great views of the eclipse.
Total solar eclipse timeline for Rangeley:
— Duration: 2 hours, 21 minutes, 17 seconds.
— Duration of totality: 2 minutes, 25 seconds
— Partial begins: Apr 8 at 2:18 p.m.
— Full begins: Apr 8 at 3:29 p.m.
— Maximum: Apr 8 at 3:30 p.m.
— Full ends: Apr 8 at 3:31 p.m.
— Partial ends: Apr 8 at 4:39 p.m.