2024-09-11

South Plains Astronomy Club

Observing Under The Dark West Texas Skies

My Eclipse 101 paper is written for teachers and event hosts, but anyone interested in how eclipses happen or how to safely view the eclipse should find it helpful.

I’m hosting the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse party at Lake Amistad National Recreation Area and started writing (sporadically) an eclipse 101 paper for the Amistad staff back in December. It’s taken far longer to write and has grown into a much larger paper than I had ever thought possible!

However, it touches on the many questions I’ve had on eclipses, the Sun, and solar physics over the years, so it should be a good base for anyone answering questions (even their own questions) about solar eclipses. Hopefully, it’s written at a level that is approachable for nearly anyone interested in the eclipse and I encourage you to download the paper.

I give you permission to print this file for personal, educational, and astronomy club use as long as you keep it intact. Feel free to distribute the link to this page so others can download the paper as well.

You can download it by clicking the image:

Thanks for viewing my paper and I hope you have a chance to see the eclipse. It is a magical event that you’ll remember the rest of your life!

Tom Heisey