Last week, visitors entering the Christenberry Planetarium were serenaded with the melancholy chords of Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 power ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart” while an animation of April 8th’s lunar eclipse path played out across the domed screen. Who said scientists have no sense of humor?
From March 25 to March 30, this, along with a free pair of solar eclipse glasses, is how the organizers behind Samford’s “Great North American Eclipse” event greeted curious attendees. The event was meant to inform people about the upcoming total eclipse, which will cross through much of North America on April 8.
Originally, the event was scheduled for just March 25 and 26, but there was enough interest that two additional encore shows were added on March 28 and 30.
The evening’s presenters were Ariana Allgood, a second-year math and psychology double major and head intern at the planetarium, and Jim Tucker of the Birmingham Astronomical Society, a physicist, materials engineer and amateur astronomer who works at local aerospace company Kratos.
During the live show, Allgood and Tucker narrated a series of graphics and animations which went over topics such as the causes behind eclipses, the cycles which they undergo, their historical background and significance and details about how different potential weather could affect the viewing. Allgood designed the graphics for the presentation.
Allgood, who has never seen an eclipse in person before, expressed her excitement about the upcoming opportunity.
“I’m just, I’m so excited about this,” said Allgood. “When I came to Samford, I thought the planetarium was cool, but I never really thought that astronomy was gonna have such an impact on me the way that it does now. So, it’ll just be cool to see what kind of perspective this gives me.”
With Birmingham being out of the path of totality, the city will only experience a partial eclipse, something Tucker believes people should be aware of.
“Even 1% of sunlight is a lot of light,” Tucker said. “And so, in Birmingham, if you’re not aware that it’s going on, the color of the light may be a little different, but you’ll probably just think a cloud is going over it if you’re not looking for it.”
Tucker also warned about potentially misleading promises, and how the best way to experience the eclipse is to travel out somewhere within the actual path of totality.
“If some hotel says, ‘We’re 99% total,’ that’s like Charles Barkley reviewing the basketball game going, ‘The basket was 99% good,’” Tucker said. “There’s no such thing. 99% partial eclipse is a 0% total eclipse. Okay? And there’s no comparison for it actually getting dark and not getting dark.”
The path of totality will be approximately eight hours away from the Birmingham area, depending on the weather, and the closer to the center of the path of totality, the longer it will stay dark.
Contributing Writer
