Video link Below of Thomas Estill's Talk on the Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024
Thomas Estill
DKG Vermont - Super Session: Solar Eclipse
March 12, 2024
"Space exploration has been an avocation of Tom Estill's for over 40 years. He grew up in the space age, and as a teenager, it helped change his life for the better."
Thomas gave a very exciting talk about the upcoming Solar Eclipse on April 8th. He will be at the Depot Park in Rutland, VT Solar Eclipse Event that day to help residents navigate this very momentous once in a lifetime experience.
Thomnas talked about the extreme importance of safety, where to find activities to use with school age children about solar eclipses, and where to find animated videos of what the solar ecipse will look like in different geographical places. The participants in this DKG Vermont Super Session learned so much from all the experience and knowledge that Thomas Estill shared with us.
THOMAS EMPHASIZED THE NECESSITY FOR SAFETY WHEN VIEWING THE ECLIPSE. YOU MUST WEAR THE SPECIAL GLASSES OFFICIALLY APPROVED. THEY FILTER OUT LIGHT FROM SUN 1000 TIMES MORE THAN SUNGLASSES. AT NO TIME LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE WITHOUT PROTECTION OF APPROVED GLASSES.
Other important information we learned about Solar Eclipses visible in the United States:
"The American Astronomical Society recommends you wear solar eclipse glasses at all times while viewing a solar eclipse. If you are not in the path of totality, you will only ever see the partial eclipse, so it's crucial you keep your eclipse sunglasses on at all times to avoid eye damage.
North America won't experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs., This eclipse is literally a once-in-a-generation event; if you miss this one, the next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous United States will be on Aug. 23, 2044, according to NASA, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota. There won't be another U.S. eclipse spanning coast to coast until 2045.
August 21, 2017: The “Great American Eclipse”. It was the first solar eclipse visible across the entire United States since 1918 and the first total solar eclipse seen anywhere in the mainland United States since 1979.
The path of totality – where viewers can see the Moon totally block the Sun, revealing the star’s outer atmosphere, called the corona – is much wider during the upcoming total solar eclipse than it was during the eclipse in 2017.
The path of the eclipse continues from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse.
The 2024 eclipse path will also pass over more cities and densely populated areas than the 2017 path did. This will make it easier for more people to see totality. An estimated 31.6 million people live in the path of totality this year, compared to 12 million in 2017. An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality."
DKG Vermont - Super Session: Solar Eclipse
March 12, 2024
"Space exploration has been an avocation of Tom Estill's for over 40 years. He grew up in the space age, and as a teenager, it helped change his life for the better."
Thomas gave a very exciting talk about the upcoming Solar Eclipse on April 8th. He will be at the Depot Park in Rutland, VT Solar Eclipse Event that day to help residents navigate this very momentous once in a lifetime experience.
Thomnas talked about the extreme importance of safety, where to find activities to use with school age children about solar eclipses, and where to find animated videos of what the solar ecipse will look like in different geographical places. The participants in this DKG Vermont Super Session learned so much from all the experience and knowledge that Thomas Estill shared with us.
THOMAS EMPHASIZED THE NECESSITY FOR SAFETY WHEN VIEWING THE ECLIPSE. YOU MUST WEAR THE SPECIAL GLASSES OFFICIALLY APPROVED. THEY FILTER OUT LIGHT FROM SUN 1000 TIMES MORE THAN SUNGLASSES. AT NO TIME LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE WITHOUT PROTECTION OF APPROVED GLASSES.
Other important information we learned about Solar Eclipses visible in the United States:
"The American Astronomical Society recommends you wear solar eclipse glasses at all times while viewing a solar eclipse. If you are not in the path of totality, you will only ever see the partial eclipse, so it's crucial you keep your eclipse sunglasses on at all times to avoid eye damage.
North America won't experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs., This eclipse is literally a once-in-a-generation event; if you miss this one, the next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous United States will be on Aug. 23, 2044, according to NASA, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota. There won't be another U.S. eclipse spanning coast to coast until 2045.
August 21, 2017: The “Great American Eclipse”. It was the first solar eclipse visible across the entire United States since 1918 and the first total solar eclipse seen anywhere in the mainland United States since 1979.
The path of totality – where viewers can see the Moon totally block the Sun, revealing the star’s outer atmosphere, called the corona – is much wider during the upcoming total solar eclipse than it was during the eclipse in 2017.
The path of the eclipse continues from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse.
The 2024 eclipse path will also pass over more cities and densely populated areas than the 2017 path did. This will make it easier for more people to see totality. An estimated 31.6 million people live in the path of totality this year, compared to 12 million in 2017. An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality."
Look skyward for March’s Super Session!
Solar Eclipse in Vermont- Tom Estill
DKG Vermont is excited to have Tom Estill share his knowledge of the upcoming solar eclipse in Vermont, and NASA resources available to teachers. Tom is a 48 year science educator, who worked for NASA at the Goddard Space Center as an aerospace education specialist. He is currently the Vermont representative to NASA’s Solar System Ambassador Program and currently works as a grandparent volunteer at Christ the King School in Rutland.
If you’re interested in purchasing glasses to safely observe April 8th’s solar eclipse you can find many choices on Amazon.
Please mark your calendars for this exciting super session on March 12 at 5 PM. Check your inbox for the Zoom link the week before the presentation.
Last Updated 3/14/24