Planetarium’s New Director Plans For Cosmic Events
Planetarium’s New Director Plans For Cosmic Events
In October, Emporia State University instructor Mark Brown will take his cameras and tripod west to document a fascinating event in the sky -- an annular solar eclipse. And he’s inviting ESU along for the ride.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, people along a line from Oregon through southern Texas to the Gulf of Mexico will be able to see the moon obscure the sun. The moon, however, will not totally block the sun — a phenomenon known as a total solareclipse — because of the path of its orbit, Brown said. It instead will be an annular eclipse in which the darkened moon will be surrounded by a “ring of fire” caused by the sun’s light.
Brown, who teaches space science and is director of ESU’s Peterson Planetarium and Science and Math Education Center, will travel to a site near Roswell, New Mexico, and livestream the annular eclipse on ESU’s YouTube channel. Additionally, Brown and ESU technicians are exploring the possibility of projecting the livestream on the Welch Stadium video board for fans tailgating before the Hornets’ football game that afternoon against Washburn.
Residents of Lyon County, as well as other U.S. locations not directly on the Oregon-to-south-Texas line, will see a partial eclipse; in Emporia, 65.8 percent of the sun will be obscured by the moon. “If you're looking at the sun with protected devices, it will look like a thick crescent in the sky,” Brown said.
The moon will begin to cross the sun’s path at 10:23 a.m. Central time on Oct. 14. The moon’s maximum coverage of the sun will occur at 11:48 a.m., with the eclipse ending at 1:20 p.m. Brown urges the use of proper eye protection for anyone looking skyward that morning.
An Emporia native, Brown is a lifelong admirer of the heavens. Since 2019, he’s volunteered for NASA’s Solar System Ambassador program that conducts a wide variety of public outreach efforts for the agency. Brown and the program’s more than 1,000 volunteers, through speaking engagements and civic appearances, teach the public about NASA and the stars above.
“We are talking about past, present, and future space missions,” he said. “We are talking about space science. We are talking about things in the night sky, astronomy. We inspire, we educate and we motivate individuals of all ages.”
Brown is particularly excited to be the director of ESU’s Peterson Planetarium. Built in 1959 and featuring a 24-foot projection screen, the planetarium can give visitors a real-time view of the stars, which are projected onto its dome. Brown and other astronomers can direct visitors’ eyes to specific constellations, stars “and other celestial things that are happening in our night sky,” he said.
The planetarium, whose programs are open to the public, is currently undergoing a facility upgrade and has no events currently scheduled this fall. Brown is eager for the refurbishment’s conclusion and the return of ESU’s community and Emporia residents.
When that happens, “You can come into our planetarium at any time, day or night, and you can see a beautiful star field,” he said.
Bookmark the HornetCam page now to stream the beautiful solar eclipse on October 14.