Students witness total eclipse across America
A total solar eclipse is seen on Monday, August 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
By Alexis Ancel // Editor in Chief
For the first time in 38 years, millions of people across the country turned their heads to the sky to watch the sun briefly disappear behind the moon. Aug. 21 2017 marked the first solar eclipse the U.S. has seen since 1979 and the last until 2024, and High Point University did not take this astronomical rarity for granted.
Many HPU students and faculty were able to experience the eclipse, whether in the path of totality or right from HPU’s campus. Though only a partial eclipse was visible from campus, with the help of 23 student and faculty volunteers, HPU welcomed thousands of students, faculty, and High Point community members onto the Promenade to catch a glimpse of it—through protective eclipse glasses, of course. Two telescopes were also set up on the Promenade to give onlookers an up-close view of the sun as the moon crossed over it.
The path of totality, however, fell just south of HPU in South Carolina, which meant that some travel was required for anyone who wanted to view a full eclipse. Physics professor Jeff Regester, along with the rest of the physics department, organized a day trip for students interested in seeing it. Based on cloud coverage and weather on that particular day, buses landed in Newberry, South Carolina where roughly 80 students were fortunate enough to experience totality.
“This is the universe showing off,” Regester said. “Science, physics, astronomy—they’re all highly technical fields, but that doesn’t prevent an astronomer from appreciating the sheer beauty of the universe, and this was one of those occasions.”
The path of totality stretched from Oregon across the country to South Carolina. Though a partial eclipse was visible for over two hours, totality only lasted for approximately two minutes and 40 seconds. Cloud coverage became a concern both in Newberry and on campus, but by later in the afternoon, those in South Carolina saw nothing but clear skies during totality. To further take advantage of this rare event, two experiment stations were set up to measure temperature, pressure and light level throughout the time period.
The effects of the eclipse were noticeable and sudden in the minutes before totality as the sunlight began to fade and the temperature dropped along with it. The eclipse eerily mirrored actual nightfall, enough so that even the crickets thought it was dusk and began to chirp around 2 p.m.
The desire to experience this rare phenomenon was not limited only to students studying the sciences. Of the 80 students on the trip, only 18 were physics majors and four were astronomy students. The rest of the students were from all different majors and areas of interest.
“Reality outdid my imagination,” said senior Michael Newton. “I had seen videos of a solar eclipse, but couldn’t see how it could live up the all the hype. To experience it through was breathtaking. The eclipse was astonishingly beautiful and something I will truly never forget.”