Monthly Spotlight: Solar Eclipse!

Pinhole Camera/ Card Projector

Intro:

In case you don't have eclipse glasses or a sun-protected telescope to look at the sun directly, a pinhole camera can be used to project the eclipse onto a different surface for safe viewing. 

Stay Safe!

• Never look at the Sun directly without protective eye gear. Sunglasses cannot protect your eyes from the damage the Sun's rays can do to them.
• Always keep your back towards the Sun while looking at a pinhole projection.
• Do not look at the Sun through the pinhole, binoculars, or telescope unless properly suited for such activities.

 Click THIS LINK to get a material and construction list for how to make a pinhole camera! 

Experimenting with UV-sensitive Beads 

By Deborah Scherrer, Stanford Solar Center

Intro:

Participants experiment with ultraviolet (UV) light-sensitive plastic beads, which are generally white but turn colors when exposed to UV light.

Learning Objectives:

After the activity, students/participants should understand that:

1. The Sun produces light in all wavelengths, including invisible ultraviolet (UV)

2. UV can be dangerous and can burn our skin, damage our eyes, and destroy our cells.

3. The Earth’s atmosphere provides significant, but not complete, protection from UV.

4. There are both ways to detect UV and also to protect ourselves from it.

Background:

These beads contain a special chemical that changes color when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. UV is an invisible type of light from the Sun. It can burn our skin and cause cancer, damage our eyes, and destroy our cells. Most UV is blocked by our Earth’s ozone layer and atmosphere, but some still get through and can be detected. The beads will stay white when inside or not exposed to UV. Incandescent and fluorescent lights will not affect them. They will only turn bright colors when exposed to UV, usually from the Sun or a UV (“black”) light. The darker the color of the beads, the more UV rays they are detecting. Once you bring the beads back indoors, they will (slowly) change to white again. This process can be repeated many times.

For the full packet experiment which includes UV charts, worksheet, materials needed, and more, click THIS LINK or download the PDF below.

Eclipse Soundscapes Observer Activity: How do solar eclipses affect animals & insects?

Intro:

The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is a NASA Citizen Science project funded by NASA Science Activation is studying how solar eclipses affect life on Earth during the 2023 annular eclipse and the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse. Eclipse Soundscapes will revisit an eclipse study from almost 100 years ago that showed that animals and insects are affected by solar eclipses! Like this study from 100 years ago, ES will ask for the
public’s help. ES will also use modern technology to continue to study how solar eclipses affect life on Earth! We need the public’s help to gather as much observation data as possible! Eclipse Soundscapes is collecting multisensory observations from the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse. The observations and sound data collected will help us understand the impact of the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses on various U.S. ecosystems.

Information to help you out:

Latitude & Longitude: Calmar- 43.174317, -91.865208

                                   Peosta- 42.445005, -90.846091 (outside the library) / 42.443903, -90.843490 (outdoor learning lab)

Location: Country (both campuses)

Eclipse Max: 2:03 pm

For the full packet including worksheets in English and Spanish CLICK HERE or download the PDF below.

Earth and Moon- to Scale

See the universe through a smaller lens with a demonstration brought to our level.

Using the standard-size globe of the Earth (about 12 inches) and a ball roughly the size of a baseball (about 3 inches) you'll have to have the two about 30 feet away. 

Stellarium

Rain or Shine, look for signs of what library study room will have the Stellarium projection. This will give you a more digital view of the eclipse and what it will look like throughout the entire period without injuring your eyes.

This is a perfect option should you want to stop in for just a quick look between classes.

Small Talk

Some of our esteemed professors at both Calmar and Peosta Campuses plan on having quick stop-bys to offer fun facts and spectacular information on the eclipse and answer questions for those who have them. Student teachers visiting from Upper Iowa University will also make an appearance to impart their knowledge and gain lifelong experience in teaching this extraordinary topic.

• When the sky darkens for the eclipse on the 8th, several of the brightest stars and planets will become visible
• Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks aka the Devil's Comet will also be visible during this time
  • Pressure from sunlight (radiation pressure) has caused the gas and dust surrounding the comet to assume a horseshoe shape, which some observers say reminds them of a devil with horns
  • It takes 71 years for this comet to fly around the sun and gives off green and red colors with a blue tail
• The Sun's outer atmosphere is called the Sun's Corona
• There are stages of a total solar eclipse
  • Partial, shadow bands, Baily's Beads, diamond ring, totality (and then reverse order at the end)
• This will be the first total solar eclipse in the continental US in 7 years
• When the sun, moon, and earth are aligned it is also known as being in syzygy
• A solar eclipse only happens at a new moon
  • but not at every new moon
• Eclipse totalities are at different lengths
• Solar eclipses occur between Saros cycles
  • Similar solar and lunar eclipses recur every 6,585.3 days (18 years, 11 days, 8 hours). Scientists call this length of time a Saros cycle
  • Two eclipses separated by one Saros cycle are similar. They occur at the same node, the Moon’s distance from Earth is nearly the same, and they happen at the same time of year.
• Everyone in the US will see at least a partial eclipse
  • Calmar and Peosta will see an 86% totality eclipse
• The center of the eclipse (where there will be 100% totality) will cross through 15 states
  • Totality will last about 4 minutes and 28 seconds
• Cool things are happening before and after totality
  • The shadows around objects will be getting sharper
    • The reason is that the Sun’s disk is shrinking, literally approaching a point — and a smaller light source produces better-defined shadows
• This eclipse will be one of the most viewed in history.
  • Coverage via media, the superb coverage of the highway system in our country, the typical weather, and vast number of people who will have access to it from large cities located near the eclipse path
• Approximately 31.5 million people can simply walk outside, look up, and see a totally eclipsed Sun in the daytime sky during the 2024 eclipse — weather permitting, of course
• The longest possible duration of the total phase of a solar eclipse is 7 minutes 32 seconds.
  • Unfortunately, the next solar eclipse with a totality approaching 7 minutes won’t occur until June 13, 2132.
• The next total lunar eclipse visible all over the US will be on March 14, 2025

 Fun Facts gathered from the National Weather Service, Astronomy Magazine, NASA, NPR, and NASA: Highlights

A special thanks is due to the following for their amazing support, ideas, time, and help with putting this event together for our students, staff, faculty, and community to enjoy.

Dan Snyder

Victor Lieberman 

Courtney Fagot

Germaine Kuhn

Geri Elsbernd

Marvin Ehm

Kathryn Gilbert

Kara Popp

John Bogdal

Matt Simon

Tim Folkerts

Jeremy Durelle

Terry Jenkins

Shannon Dirks

Chelsea Clegg

Katie Laux

Jacqueline Langreck