On August 21, 2017, Clemson lay directly in the path of a total solar eclipse, an event that brought thousands to campus for a “viewing party” and was shared with even more by way of social media.


Organizers estimate that there was a total of about 50,000 eclipse watchers at a variety of campus locations. More than 15,000 gathered on the main campus between the Watt Center and the library for a mix of educational programming and the experience of being together during such an event. Media Relations’ Wanda Johnson did a shout-out on stage, asking people to clap if they had come from a certain state. All 50 states got responses; while that’s not a scientific poll, we do think it’s accurate to say that most states were represented. We confirmed that there were guests from North America, South America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
“Eclipse Over Clemson” was one of the most shared events in the University’s history on social media. It started with content — 59 posts to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, including 17 videos and more than 550 photographs.


For more about the solar eclipse over Clemson, visit the department of physics & astronomy event page here.
If you’re interested in ordering the Eclipse Over Clemson keepsake book, click here.


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