GREAT AMERICAN ECLIPSE OF APR. 8, 2024 RESOURCES FOR
THE UNIV. OF LOUISVILLE AND COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Let's hope that there are no clouds!

 by Gerard Williger, Prof of Astronomy

There are many resources available.  Here are a few.   It's worth going to the path of totality if at
all possible, because the experience is totally different.  There, you will see the sun's corona, twilight in the sky, some
bright stars and planets, the birds and insects will quiet down and it will get cooler.
If you only see a partial eclipse, the sky brightness will get down to that of a cloudy day but no more.


The NY Times listed the eclipse as the #1 travel destination for 2024!  See HERE.

Indiana Humanities has an eclipse poetry contest.  Entries are due on Feb. 9, 2024.  See here for
an article by NPR-WFPL and here for contest details.


If we can offer a 2nd half of the semester version,
Take the "Great North American Eclipse of 2024" course:
- 1 credit hour
- all online (in spring 2024; - it's in person with lots of remote aids for autumn 2023)
- all tests multiple choice unlimited tries
Sign up for Physics & Astronomy 195.
If you are off-campus, sign up for "Continuing Studies" (requires enrolling at U. Louisville)
- Tuition is free for people over 65 -- fees are around $30; high schoolers in KY and southern IN pay $93
- The website for the full-semester Spring 2024 course  is here
TOTAL ECLIPSE, MONDAY, APR 8, 2024

The eclipse path of totality will cover Evansville, Bloomington, Indianapolis and Scottsburg
in Indiana, at about 3pm local time.  It will be *only partial* in Louisville.  Go to totality!
It is a completely different experience, a million times better.  But, be prepared for a massive
traffic jam after the eclipse.  It could take a long time to get back to Kentucky on the four Ohio River bridges in the area.
The next total solar eclipses which will pass near Louisville (within a day's drive) are:
Aug. 12, 2045 (Memphis TN)
Sep. 14, 2099 (Columbus OH)
May 3, 2106 (Marquette MI)
Oct. 26, 2144 (Erie PA)
Oct. 17, 2153 (Louisville KY)

Eclipse path over North America, with times

A higher resolution image:
eclipse path in southern Indiana



USEFUL LINKS

American Astronomical Society Eclipse Page - many resources on eye safety, taking pictures, events etc.!
CITIZEN SCIENCE WITH THE 2024 ECLIPSE:

NASA Eclipse Soundscapes - record Nature's sounds



Articles on 2024 eclipse:

 NASA Urges US Public to see April 8's Total Solar Eclipse -- and Drops a Home Truth
17 Feb 2024, Jamie Carter, Forbes ; has eclipse broadcast links from TX, IL, IN, OH, Discovery Channel (TX)


A 45-50 minute talk on the 2017 eclipse by Fred Espenak (NASA's Mr. Eclipse, retired) for the 2016 Bullitt Lecture in Louisville is on YouTube here.

A 25 minute talk (audio file plus slides) which I gave in May 2017 is here.  There is also another set of files by my student, Nick Duong, on asteroids.


 Statements on safe eclipse-watching and eye safety by opthamologists, the American Astronomical Society and NASA:
https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety - AAS
https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety - NASA

That messaging has been endorsed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Academy of Optometry, and the American Optometric Association, the first and last of which have put out their own safety messages that encourage people to go outside and watch the eclipse — safely:

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/solar-eclipse-eye-safety
https://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/2017-solar-eclipse?sso=y




WHERE TO GET ECLIPSE GLASSES IN LOUISVILLE
 Try public libraries -- call ahead.
Also try the Society of Physics Students and the Louisville Astronomical Society.


OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION


More than spectacle: eclipses can create science, and so can you - AP, Seth Borenstein, 14 Aug 2017

Everything you want to know about the solar eclipse (compendium of stories) - Washington Post

Eclipses through history from timeanddate.com

History of total solar eclipses in the United States since 1867 - Christopher C. Burt, meteorologist and eclipse specialist

The Schaeberle 40 foot (length) Eclipse Camera of Lick Observatory -- Eclipse Observations over 1882-1932, Eddy 1971, J. Hist. of Astronomy, 2, 1

Why some say the eclipse is best enjoyed in a massive crowd - NY Times, 15 Aug 2017

The Great American Eclipse traffic jam - did the media and schools/universities wake up too late? - americaneclipseusa.com

Selected Eclipse Videos/News from Past -- Some with Messages to 2017 in Future

1925 Jan 24, British Pathe newsreel (probably New York area, 6.5', silent)
1925 Jan 24 - Observers Lined Manhattan to Measure the Eclipse, Sarah Levin, 11 Aug 2017, space.com
1932 Aug 31, Universal newsreel (New England, 30")
1963 Jul 20, Universal newsreel (Manitoba, 1')
1970 Mar 7, CBS News (10', 1 of 6, 60' total, Charles Kuralt)
1979 Feb 26, ABC News (OR-WA-MT, 10', Frank Reynolds)
1979 Feb 26, CBC (Brandon MB, 2', includes astronomer Jay Pasachoff)
1979 Feb 26, CBC (Winnipeg MB, 38', Bill Guest & Robert Ballantyne)
1991 Jul 11, WBZ, WCVB,  WHDH, ABC News, NBC News (Hawaii, Mexico, 23')
1999 Aug 11, BBC (England, 7.5', Michael Buerk with Sir Patrick Moore)