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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Monday resembled the set of a science fiction movie downtown.</p><p>While students, faculty and staff gathered at Wilkes University to sneak a peek at the solar eclipse, downtown workers lined city streets &#8212; some wearing eclipse glasses, others trying to take photos of the historic event with their cellphones.</p><p>And on Public Square, Mondays at the Market continued without a hitch. The owners of a few classic cars sat back in their chairs, talking about what was going to happen when the eclipse began and vowing not to look at the sun.</p><p>On the Wilkes campus, Dr. Brian Redmond, looking as if he came out of central casting, prepared his Questar telescope for the university community to view the celestial event. Wearing a straw, wide-brimmed hat and a long-sleeve white shirt, Redmond brought a pair of eclipse-safe binoculars and a few pairs of special eclipse glasses.</p><p>At about 1 p.m., not many Wilkes people had arrived, but by 1:30, a crowd had gathered in the Fenner Quadrangle, adjacent to the Cohen Science Center.</p><p>This wasn&#8217;t the first eclipse viewing for Redmond, professor of environmental engineering, earth science and geology. He remembers the solar eclipse of 1979.</p><p>&#8220;I was right here doing pretty much the same thing,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Redmond said &#8220;until fairly recently&#8221; &#8212; about 1,000 years ago &#8212; nobody really knew why a solar eclipse happened. He said scientists figured out that the moon would move between the paths of Earth and the sun, causing the skies to darken and temperatures to drop.</p><p>&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t last too long, but it is spectacular,&#8221; Redmond said. &#8220;And it happens so infrequently.&#8221;</p><p>Most of the people who viewed the eclipse &#8212; from the telescope, the binoculars or the special glasses &#8212; had the same reactions:</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s pretty cool.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad I saw it.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I can tell my grandchildren I saw the eclipse.&#8221;</p><p>Far fewer said they were disappointed.</p><p>Lorna Galliford, who grew up in England before moving to the United States, said she read about the Wilkes event on the university&#8217;s website.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m here to take this opportunity,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve never seen an eclipse before. It was absolutely amazing.&#8221;</p><p>By now the line was growing longer as people wanted to catch a glimpse of history. (Wilkes students begin fall classes next Monday.)</p><p>&#8220;This is the first eclipse for a lot of these people,&#8221; Redmond said. &#8220;Especially the students.&#8221;</p><p>Wilkes President Patrick Leahy viewed the eclipse at the campus event with his family.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s great that our faculty stepped up to offer their expertise on such a historic day,&#8221; Leahy said. &#8220;And I&#8217;m thrilled to see such interest in the sciences.&#8221;</p><p>On Public Square, </p><p>Jack Rudeski of Hanover Township had his 1966 Pontiac GTO decked out for eclipse day.</p><p>&#8220;The eclipse doesn&#8217;t faze me in the least,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I remember the one in 1979, but it was cloudy that day.&#8221;</p><p>Bob Daubert of Wilkes-Barre Township was standing by his 1985 Chevrolet El Camino. He said he wouldn&#8217;t look at the eclipse.</p><p>&#8220;My eyes are bad now,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Rudeski said he couldn&#8217;t understand what all the fuss was about.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody is making such a big thing out of it,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Will Beekman, executive director at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, was home with his oldest daughter, Hannah, on Monday. He said he bought eclipse-safe glasses, and he and Hannah looked at the eclipse when it began.</p><p>Beekman said his neighbors, a retired couple, were rocking back-and-forth on their patio chairs, talking with each other like they always do.</p><p>&#8220;I wondered if they even knew that a solar eclipse was taking place,&#8221; Beekman said. &#8220;I eventually decided to walk over there and offer them my eclipse glasses, and I&#8217;m so glad I did. They were so excited &#8212; like kids on Christmas morning.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Eclipse-watching tops Monday activities in Wilkes-Barre