About 100 students, faculty and staff packed Sunwatcher Plaza at 11:30 a.m. while anxiously waiting for the solar eclipse to appear, hosted by the physics program, on Aug. 21. The eclipse peaked at approximately 1:04 p.m. at roughly 80 percent totality.
Preet Sharma, professor of physics, said eclipses happen often but are not normally as extreme as this one.
“An eclipse happens every year but they aren’t as profound as we are seeing today,” Sharma said. “We should see about 80 percent of the sun’s surface covered.”
Mechanical engineering and physics senior Michael Olaya said observing an eclipse is a way for the scientific community to gain more knowledge and gather research.
“The eclipse is a way to connect humans with the cosmos, which is an amazing thing. For thousands of years, we’ve observed them and they’ve been really useful with science,” Olaya said. “In the early 19th century, they used the results from observing an eclipse to prove Einstein’s theory of general relativity. So not only are they a really awesome experience, but they are also really awesome for science and for research.”
The physics program had 80 ISO 12312-2 certified viewing glasses available for people to safely view the eclipse, along with a small telescope outfitted with a solar filter. Attendees waited in line for the telescope and passed around the viewing glasses to each person.
“I’m 21 years old, and I’ve never seen an eclipse before, so I came to see it today,” Lashanda Turenne, nursing senior, said. “This is really cool.”
Thank you for joining us at the Eclipse Viewing party! #SolarEclipse2017 pic.twitter.com/1KmvuNQBrD
— Midwestern State (@MidwesternState) August 21, 2017
Cole Alsup, mechanical engineering sophomore, said he came because this is a rare opportunity.
While looking at the sun with his colorful glasses, Alsup said, “I came here because I thought it would be a fun experience and it only happens every once in a hundred years or so.”
Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Matt Park said he was impressed with the event.
“The turnout is wonderful. There’s a lot of people interested in this celestial opportunity that I guess happens every once in a hundred years or so. There are actually quite a few students here as well,” Park said. “I’ve never seen one of these to this magnitude before, so it’s definitely interesting and intriguing. It lived up to my expectations.”
The next solar eclipse will be April 8, 2024.
RESOURCES
More information from NASA
Eclipse misconceptions
The eclipse of 2024 — Dallas in totality path