Students gathered in the late morning in front of Tommy Trojan, throughout campus and at the California Science Center Monday, peering through tinted glasses at the first total solar eclipse in the United States since 2017.
Because Los Angeles is not in the path of totality, Trojans on campus were able to see a partial solar eclipse, in which the sun appears like a crescent. Some Trojans made the trek across states to view the astronomic event.
Miguel Silva, a senior studying business administration, returned home to Carbondale, Illinois to get a look at the eclipse.
“The animals were quiet, no birds were chirping,” Silva said. “You could see the moon slowly take over the sun with the glasses on and then it became pitch dark. It wasn’t dark like it was nighttime, it was dark like someone turned the brightness down. It did not have that nighttime glow. The wind even stopped.”
For Carbondale, a small town of about 20,000 people primarily built on small family-owned businesses, the event brought tourists, and thus, a boost to its business.
“It was very heartwarming,” Silva said. “It’s one of those times, where as someone who graduated high school during [the COVID-19 pandemic], I didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone from high school. This was the one time where everyone came back to Carbondale. I was able to catch up with people that I had not seen since high school and it was the eclipse that brought us all together.”
The California Science Center, in Exposition Park, hosted a viewing event from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Nor Oropez, the director of community and exhibit programs at the California Science Center, said that the event would help educate people about the eclipse in addition to wearing the proper eyewear to view it safely.
“We wanted to make sure that people had resources here at the Science Center so we can view the eclipse in a safe manner,” Oropez said. “[Viewing the eclipse] is always kind of fun, because it’s not something that happens all the time. So a lot of people are here, and they’re all pretty excited, and hopefully it inspires them to study science more in the future.”
Despite only being able to view part of the eclipse, students said that they were stoked to see it. Kylar Flynn, a junior majoring in astronautical engineering, viewed the partial eclipse on campus. He said he was glad to see others taking interest in the event.
“I’ve always really liked space growing up — my dad was an astronomer, I’m majoring in engineering for space, and it’s just something I’m really passionate about,” Flynn said. “It’s nice to see the general public appreciating something so scientific and celebrating that aspect of our solar system. It’s really cool to see this eclipse coverage reach such a large audience.”
Paige Kaufman, a junior majoring in astronautical engineering, said that the eclipse was an important event to her because it reinvigorated her love for space.
“The community around space discussion is what really attracted me to study space, so I always love when people are brought together for events like this,” Kaufman said. “Witnessing events like this and seeing the space shuttle across the street gets me very excited and reminds me why I’m working hard to become an astronautical engineer.”
Tuojin Yin, a junior studying physics and mathematics, said she was excited about having everyone gather to view the eclipse.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said. “I think [having a watch party] is a great way to bring everyone together for science. I think astronomy is always the best way to reach out to the public for science education. This is such a natural way to just gather people and celebrate science.”
The next total solar eclipse set to significantly cross the contiguous United States will be August 12, 2045, spanning from California to Florida.