ROCKPORT — The Rockport Public Library wants to help the public get excited about the upcoming solar eclipse by hosting a talk on Saturday, March 30, at 1 p.m., entitled “All About Eclipses.”

Mark Van Baalen, Ph.D., will discuss why solar and lunar eclipses occur; why we do not see one every month; where to view these events in Maine and elsewhere; how to safely view a solar eclipse to avoid eye damage; and fateful eclipses in history.

The library will have free eclipse-viewing safety glasses to distribute to audience members, while supplies last.

Van Baalen has degrees in Astronomy and Geology from Harvard, and is a veteran of fifteen solar eclipses and many lunar eclipses. He resides in Rockport and is Past Commodore of the Rockport Boat Club.