MEDINA, Ohio — "I'm, like, this excited!"
Joy Conley is all smiles when talking about the total solar eclipse, the first one she will ever see. But let's back up a bit.
3News first met Joy a year ago after hearing about her love of astronomy and how it led to a very special gift: a new telescope from the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association.
"I've been loving it," Joys says now. "I've been able to set it up at the park or in my backyard and have been able to look at the stars."
She writes down everything she sees in a notebook her grandfather gave her.
"I've seen lots of fun things,” she told us, “but I think seeing Venus was the best."
Joy has gotten good at assembling and caring for her telescope, and continues to attend CAA meetings.
"It's really great, because a lot of times, you think that astronomy might just be for older people," Gale Franko of the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association said. "But when we have our star parties, a lot of the younger people come out, and they're so enamored by it."
And maybe more will follow in Joy's footsteps after viewing the solar eclipse. Joy has been telling her friends it is a must-see event.
"I'm telling them that this is, like, once in a hundred years," she explained, "and that you shouldn't just stay at home and just have a weird blackout and go. Go and watch it."
Though she has a telescope, Joy is sticking with eclipse glasses. She doesn't have a solar filter for the telescope and doesn't want to damage it.
"You need to have these types of glasses," she noted. "They might not look strong, but they're powerful."
And before the big day, take the time to inspect your glasses.
"If they are scratched, make sure to get new ones, because that could break them," she cautioned. "And you would be blinded looking at the sun."
Keeping her sight safe for more stargazing. Joy's dream job would be capturing images of stars and galaxies for NASA.
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