It doesn’t happen until Aug. 21, but people around Kane County are getting psyched up for the solar eclipse.

The Midwest — and downstate Illinois in particular — are being touted as some of the best viewing places for the total solar eclipse, which NASA describes as “one of nature’s most awe inspiring sights.”

Here in Kane County we’re most likely see a partial solar eclipse, where the moon covers part of the sun’s disk. But the total eclipse can be seen in a swath across the United States stretching from Salem, OR, to Charleston, SC.

NASA created a website to provide a guide to this amazing event. Here you will find activities, events, broadcasts, and resources from NASA and our partners across the nation.

A solar eclipse happens every 18 months or so, but this year’s event is a big deal because it’s a total eclipse. The figures are complicated, but people generally agree that a total eclipse happens every 375 years.

Kane County communities already are starting to get geared up.

Tonight, in fact, the Batavia Public Library is hosting “A Solar Eclipse is Coming!” The program takes place at 7 p.m. (Monday, July 10) at the library, 10 S. Batavia Ave. The public is invited. Admission is free.

The speaker will be Michelle Nichols, a staff member at Adler Planetarium in Chicago, who will detail eclipses and how to enjoy a partial or total eclipse.

Nichols leads Adler’s “Scopes in the City” telescope outreach program. Additionally, she is education program manager for Adler’s Far Horizons high-altitude ballooning and space program.

Nichols earned her bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995, and a master of education degree in curriculum and instruction from National-Louis University in 2002.

An Adler employee since 1995, Nichols has helped develop exhibits, planetarium shows and fun programs and events for Adler visitors.

Registration is required. Call (630) 879-1393, Ext. 200, or visit bataviapubliclibrary.org.