PRM Team Sees the Total Solar Eclipse

On August 21, a group of educators from the Peoria Riverfront Museum's Programs department traveled to Missouri to view the total solar eclipse. It was an unforgettable experience. Read on to see photos and videos from our trip! 

We observed the eclipse from Farmington, Missouri, which was about 15 miles off center line, so got 2 minutes and 15 seconds of totality. The weather was pretty good - HOT and mostly clear. 

In the partial stages of the eclipse we enjoyed watching with our eclipse shades and pinhole projectors. In the video below I explained how to use pinhole projectors to view the eclipse.

A Ritz Cracker makes an excellent pinhole projector!

The Sun through eclipse shades. Image by Beau Commanday

Notice the darkness of the sky, this was within 10 minutes of totality. Image by Alexander Martin

Partial Eclipse photographed through a solar filter. Image by Soochon Radee

I got SUPER EXCITED when I started noticing the shadows of the eclipse being cast by trees. 

Crescent Suns being projected by the dappled sunlight coming through tree leaves.

The most exciting part outside of totality itself was how dark it got in the moments leading up to and during totality. In the 10 minutes before the Moon fully blocked the light of the Sun, it started to get noticeably darker and remarkably cooler. The light in the sky reminded me of the light we see before a summer storm - sort of an eerie half light. Then the Moon blocked out the light of the Sun for about 2.5 minutes. It is hard to describe what an incredible sight it was - so alien and beautiful. The corona was bright white, and shimmered and changed. Sunset colors stretched across the horizon in all directions. It was dark enough to see Venus and Jupiter, and a streetlight nearby came on. It was such a surreal and beautiful experience, I was totally overwhelmed. 

A quick photo I snapped showing how dark it was during totality.

A fantastic picture of totality taken by Beau Commanday

David Stief, Giant Screen Theater Curator, took this video of totality for us. The cloud obscured totality for just a short moment. I didn't notice it during the eclipse, but you can see the bright star Regulus in this video.

Totality captured by Soochon Radee

In the video below, I was trying to sound professional and explain what we had just seen, but I was still so excited and overwhelmed I wasn't very articulate. 

Traveling to totality was an incredible experience that I will never forget. I am very grateful that I got to see it, especially after spending so much time teaching about it! I am also very grateful that museum coworkers hosted the viewing party we put on for Central Illinois. Around 800 people came to the museum to view the 93% partial eclipse visible from Peoria. 

Members of the Peoria Astronomical Society helped people see the eclipse through solar telescopes.

You can see more pictures from our viewing party here. 

Overall, the eclipse was great for astronomy and science education. People all over the US got excited about this rare phenomenon, and started learning more about astronomy as they prepared to watch it. I hope it draws more people to continue to be interested in science.

I'm sorry this post was delayed... but I had a good reason! This will be my last post for a few months. My baby girl has arrived and I am busy getting to know her. I'll be back posting again about the latest news from space and what you can see in our night sky in November.

Meanwhile, you can always learn what's happening in the sky above by visiting the Dome Planetarium at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. Shows are included with general admission and play every day the museum is open.