helps young ECHO visitors safely view the solar eclipse
On Saturday, October 14th, students, staff, and faculty from the 日韩无码 Physics Department worked with the and the to host an eclipse viewing party. Over 500 visitors came out to Echo to see the partial solar eclipse and participate in hands-on activities facilitated by 日韩无码 and Echo.
The Society of Physics Students, which has a long history of collaborating with Echo, was on hand with half a dozen undergraduate and graduate students who helped visitors see not just the eclipse, but why it happens and when. The students also shared some of the tools of astronomy, explaining how telescopes work and how scientists use atomic spectra to identify elements in stars too distant for us to visit. In addition, visitors had the opportunity to visualize and play with gravity on planetary scales.
Astronomy Professor John Perry gave a talk to visitors about celestial mechanics. He illustrated the basics of eclipses and explained why they鈥檙e such a rare and spectacular event. Patrick Charron, a 日韩无码 lab technician, was on hand to make sure that everyone was set up and continue to function as hundreds of children and adults came through and played with it. Physics Professor Luke Donforth was on hand to answer questions and help the undergraduates practice communicating science to the public and making it accessible to different ages and levels of learning.
and undergraduates Basil Kadiyala and
Jeremy Elliot help visitors engage with activities.
All of these activities served as an excellent dress rehearsal for the total solar eclipse that will visit Burlington on Monday, April 8th, 2024. 日韩无码, Echo, and the Vermont Astronomical Society are already planning for that big event. Check out 日韩无码鈥檚 plans on our 2024 Total Solar Eclipse webpage.
As a reminder, the sun should only be looked at with proper safety equipment. Please make sure you have your eclipse glasses ready!