Physics and Astronomy Lecture – Exploring Eclipses at the Edge of Space, May 5

SWOCC release – Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College’s Physics and Astronomy Lecture Series welcomes Dr. Angela Des Jardins, Director of the Montana Space Grant Consortium and principal investigator of the NASA- and NSF-sponsored Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) to present “Exploring Eclipses at the Edge of Space” on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 6:30 pm. The lecture can be accessed via Zoom at https://socc-edu.zoom.us/j/94390532783. Dr. Des Jardins will provide insight into the science that can be learned observing eclipses from high-altitude balloons. She will recap some of the findings from the August 2017 total eclipse and look forward to the coming annular eclipse over Coos Bay in October 2023 and the total solar eclipse across central North America in April 2024. On August 21, 2017 student teams across the country sent special balloons 100,000 feet into the atmosphere, sending live video of the total solar eclipse from the edge of space to the NASA website and TV. In addition, students conducted scientific studies of the atmospheric effects of the eclipse. The 2017 eclipse ballooning accomplishments spurred student-led, ground-breaking scientific campaigns in Chile during the July 2019 and December 2020 total solar eclipses. Dr. Des Jardins will discuss previous NEBP results, show fantastic eclipse footage, and highlight student opportunities for the upcoming 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses. The Physics and Astronomy Lecture Series is sponsored in part by the Southwestern Oregon Community College Foundation. For more information about this lecture and future events, please contact Dr. Aaron Coyner, Associate Professor of Physics, at 541-888-7244, aaron.coyner@socc.edu. To learn more about physics and engineering degrees at Southwestern visit https://physics.socc.edu/.