The Solar Eclipse of 2024 at UBarU
On Monday April 8, 2024 there will be a total eclipse of the Sun visible along a path that extends from Mexico south-to-north across Texas. The center of that path (cone of totality) will be very near to UBarU, which will experience a totality (the time the Sun is completely blocked by the Moon) of approximately 4 minutes and 24 seconds (the 2017 eclipse had a maximum totality of only slightly more than 2 minutes 40 seconds visible at the darkest locations in the U.S.) So, the 2024 eclipse will provide a significantly longer experience for those fortunate enough to see it. If the 2017 was the “Great” Eclipse, 2024 will be the “Greater” Eclipse!
The Total Solar Eclipse event will begin with dinner of Saturday, April 6th and end after breakfast on Tuesday April 9th. No other reservation types will be offered, including day-of-the-event or two-day packages. During the full three-day event schedule, access to UBarU will be closed to anyone not registered for the event or the support/program staff for the event (except bonafied emergencies.)
We kick things off with BBQ (vegetarian options avalable) followed by a star party at our observatory on Saturday night. We have presentations on Sunday and Monday (see below), star parties each evening, and lots of food and fellowship with time to explore the UBarU campus. All meals provided.
Dark Amid The Blaze Of Noon: The Art, Science, History and Folklore of Solar Eclipses
Presentation by John Barentine
Abstract: Solar eclipses have fascinated, terrified and delighted humans from the dawn of our species. In recent centuries observations of eclipses yielded important information about both the Sun and Moon. And throughout time they have woven a rich tapestry of art, literature and folklore. In this presentation I will begin with a physical picture of what solar eclipses are and then delve into their observational history and significance in world culture. Finally I will review some of the major findings of scientific examinations of eclipses from the Enlightenment to the 20th century.
How the Solar Eclipse of 1919 Proved Einstein Was Right
Presentation by Amanda Bayless
Abstract: The Theory of General Relativity is one of Albert Einstein's more famous discoveries. One aspect of this theory states that gravity would warp space and would bend light from distant stars, acting like a magnifying glass in outer space. How could this theory have been proven in the early 1900s? Ideally, one could measure the bending of starlight due to the Sun's gravity, but the Sun's light is far too bright to see stars nearby, until it is blocked by the moon in a solar eclipse. In this presentation, I will discuss General Relativity and Gravitational Lensing and how it is used in modern astronomy. I will also discuss the history of the eclipse expeditions of the 1900s, with finally the successful expedition of Arthur Eddington in 1919 that proved Einstein correct.
An Astronomer’s Call to Worship
Presentation by Sheila Kannapan
Abstract: Whatever god or gods any of us do or do not worship, there is something larger than ourselves in a total solar eclipse. Ancient cultures feared these ominous events, when a dragon or demon would devour the Sun, leaving only faint wisps of fire. Our modern eyes can watch without terror as the Sun vanishes behind the Moon, as the Moon casts its shadow over us, and as the Sun’s dim halo of fire -- the corona -- becomes visible in the darkened sky. Yet we cannot escape chills of awe. In preparation for the total solar eclipse of April 8th, I will lead you in an exploration of its many layers of meaning. We will set intentions for how to experience the eclipse with souls open to overtones of the divine in our scientific understanding of it. As the moment approaches, we can pay attention to the long column of the Moon’s shadow, connecting us to a material presence whose gravity has shaped life on Earth since its inception. Like a spiritual guide, the Moon has in recent cosmic times spiraled far enough from Earth to uncover the corona, previously hidden during eclipses, revealing this wonder just as complex life has come into existence to witness it. The elemental makeup of creation is imprinted in the light of the corona, in spectral lines first decoded in the eclipse of 1868. As we watch the corona emerge from darkness, we can notice its tendrils reaching out to become a solar wind streaming all the way to Earth, where the touch of the Sun sparks a circle of auroral light that imitates the ethereal solar crown. And from the first to the last sliver of partial eclipse, we can revel in the connection of shared worship, listening for the amazement of birds and beasts, shivering as the air cools in response to the Moon’s shadow, and raising our arms to the sky.
