- There's going to be a total solar eclipse.

The moon is going to completely block the sun for about four minutes, 10 seconds.

- Anytime you get an opportunity to see a total solar eclipse, I think they're just fascinating things to watch.

- People don't understand how important this is.

This is the longest totality that has ever come across United States soil and it's coming through our backyard.

- It's probably the most spectacular thing I've ever seen in my life.

I'm not a religious person, but I would say it was a religious experience.

- Definitely couldn't take my eyes off it.

To see the alignment of it was really cool.

I didn't want to miss a second of it.

(upbeat music) - The sun is always there, the moon is always there, but you have to come at it with a certain sense of wonder.

My name is Bob Loper.

I'm a research astrophysicist at Marshall Space Flight Center.

It is very remarkable that we have a sun and a moon that can line up in such a way that there can be an eclipse, that we can actually see on the planet.

So if the moon casts large enough a shadow, and that's really what an eclipse is, is the moon's shadow is being cast across the earth as the moon and the sun move in our field of view.

In general, there are three types of eclipses in, in that I, as I separate them in my mind.

A solar eclipse in general, you get the moon gets in the way of our view of the sun.

And whether we call it a partial or an annular or total eclipse, depends on how much of the sun is blocked.

So a partial is just you block a portion of the sun.

It requires that the the moon be fairly precisely along the earth/sun line so that we actually see the moon in our field of view.

If the alignment is particularly good, you can get what's called an annular eclipse, where the portion of the sun that's blocked is the center of the disc and you see this ring of fire around it that's called annulus.

If the moon is closer, then the moon appears bigger in our field of view and then that annular eclipse is instead a total eclipse.

And then you're not seeing any more of the big yellow ball of flame in the sky, but you're seeing the stuff around it.

You're seeing the solar atmosphere.

- I cannot remember a time when I was not interested in either geology or astronomy.

I would use the telescope that belonged to friends of my parents and look at the various things in the sky and try to figure out what they were and try to find the planets.

My name is Mitzi Adams and I am a research astrophysicist with a specialty in solar science.

- The lunar eclipse that happened a few years ago and it was coming up kind of like the eclipse now.

And she's like, mom, I got to see it.

I, we have to see it.

- I usually stay up doing homework till like 12 o'clock.

And I was like, well, I might as well stay up 'cause if I go to sleep, I'm going to miss it.

And so I'm up just doing random things like watching TV or being on my phone, watching the time, making sure I don't miss it.

And then when it's finally like 2:50 ish, I'm like, I go to my mom's room and I'm like, Hey mom, mom, - mom, mom, come on.

We're going to miss it.

We're going to miss it.

She, I said, well, have you gone to sleep at all?

No, I've been up all night.

I didn't want to miss it and I did this and this and this and I could tell she had not gone to sleep.

- My name's Mekenzie Racy and I want to be an aerospace engineer at NASA.

When I saw my first solar eclipse in fifth grade, it was like, oh my gosh, this is really cool.

Miss Marsico's classroom, she was my fifth grade teacher.

I have more love for science because of Miss Marsico.

- This is probably for many people a once in a lifetime experience to, to actually look up and see the sun disappear from the sky and have the stars come out.

I'm Joe Matus.

I am the deputy manager of the Program Planning and Control Office for the Human Landing System.

On the day of the eclipse, I'll be in Russellville, Arkansas.

- I will be in Russellville, Arkansas.

- You want to be on tv?

Yeah, right here.

We're filming right here.

So this, see, I'm going to, I'm going to have them show introduce you.

This is Terry Thomas.

He's our eclipse czar.

He knows everything about the eclipse, everything and anything.

Now Terry's our parks and rec guy.

Ny name is Fred Teague.

I'm mayor of Russellville, Arkansas.

I, I think I'm the luckiest person alive to be mayor of my hometown.

Well, Eclipse 2024, I mean we're, gosh, we're 90, 91 days out right now.

Somewhere about there.

NASA will be here.

Christie Graham, our A&P director really worked hard on that.

You know, early on, she's like, I'm talking to NASA.

And we're like, what?

You're talking to NASA?

And then it's like more conversations.

Then she's like, NASA's committed to come.

And then the next thing you know, hey, NASA's coming in October and they're going to bring a team.

(upbeat music) You know, I think our first location was here to, to meet with a journalism class here, come up here and look at the performing arts center.

We looked at our local fire department, we looked at downtown, we looked at different locations throughout Russellville just to try to figure out where they were going to be.

And then we went to Arkansas Tech and we looked at different viewing location potentials.

It was a really interesting day.

I felt like, one of the things I walked away from that meeting was I felt like we were on the right track.

We were taking the right steps, we were planning in the right direction.

- What was it releasing as it burned?

- My name is Dr. Ginni McDonald and I'm the superintendent of schools for the Russellville school district.

What we're really excited about is the already awesome experiences that our students receive on a day-to-day basis, year to year.

Will be a little bit different this spring in 2024 because of the eclipse and the opportunities that NASA can provide, which may simply be a zoom interaction with an astronaut or it may be a connection between a scientist and our high school AP science classes.

So there's a wide range and a continuum of learning experiences that we're able to provide and we have a person dedicated to ensure that all of those types of things take place.

- It's a great opportunity for us to show off who we are.

We're anticipating people from over 40 states and probably a dozen different countries being in our local area.

And I think there's a group of people that don't comprehend that and I'm not sure I do.

There's a group of people that this eclipse is just like, it's so key.

It's, it's just this massive eclipse.

It's the largest totality.

It's, it's a, it's a really amazing thing even if you don't think it's going to be.

- My earliest sort of interest in astronomy and physics, I think I was in middle school when the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars and at that age I thought robots were like the coolest thing.

(laughter) And so, you know, the fact that they're driving basically like an RC car on another planet was just, you know, mind blowing to a, you know, middle school kid.

So I'm actually from Russellville originally, so I grew up a little over a mile from where we are right now.

My name is Dr. Matthew Hankins and I am a physics and astronomy professor here at Arkansas Tech University.

We're partnering with NASA, we're going to be using the observatory to take really deep and really detailed images of the solar corona.

So what the solar corona is, is it's basically like the outer atmosphere of the sun and typically you can't see it because the sun itself is so bright and the corona is very faint.

So the only time you can really actually see the corona is during an eclipse when the moon blocks out the brightest part of the sun.

There are different interesting things that happen with the corona where you may have heard of something called a coronal mass ejection before.

Basically the sun's outer atmosphere can spit off material and this, these types of coronal ejections and things like that, they produce these big interesting patterns on the extended atmosphere of the sun that, you know, we're hoping to take images of and study.

This is the telescope at the campus observatory.

It is a 16 inch Newtonian reflecting telescope.

What that means is that it has mirrors inside the telescope that are used to produce the images and calling it a Newtonian telescope, it just refers to how the mirrors are laid out inside the telescope.

If we were actually going to be observing like something in the night sky, we have a computer downstairs that we actually use typically to point the telescope in different locations.

So when we talk about this being a 16 inch telescope, we're referring to the mirror that is in the inside of the telescope.

So you can see the mirror through there.

So that's what's known as the primary mirror.

So when light comes into the telescope, it hits that mirror that you're seeing and then bounces back in this direction.

And this mirror is what's known as a secondary mirror.

So it bounces off the primary, comes to the secondary and this mirror is at an angle where the light is going to bounce off it and go over here through this tube.

The light then comes to this, so this is the camera of the telescope.

So when we take an image where we actually collect data, this telescope is a bit of a interesting custom make where it's actually both Newtonian and cassegrain.

And so the secondary mirror, instead of sending light over where the camera is, if I move it ever so slightly, it will send the light here because this is really easy to put an eyepiece in.

Somebody stand here and look at it.

But that's the, you know, basic configuration of the telescope.

Telescopes, they actually get much, much more expensive.

It's, it's exponentially more expensive the larger the telescope gets.

And so that's, that's the reason why most amateurs wouldn't have access to a telescope the size that we have here.

One other difference between the two, also, a lot of small telescopes, they will use lenses to focus the light in the telescope rather than mirrors.

The reason for that is lenses are relatively inexpensive to make compared to, to mirrors at sort of small sizes.

But when you start talking about really big lenses and mirrors, big lenses are hard to make, really difficult to make.

And so almost all of the bigger telescopes use mirrors instead.

Typically in the daytime you probably notice that you can't really see stars and that's because the sun is just so overwhelmingly bright hitting the earth's atmosphere that all of the blue sky that you see is basically light from the sun still, even though it's not in the direction of the sun.

But the sunlight gets scattered when it hits our atmosphere.

So pretty much all the light you see outside on daytime is from the sun.

So what's going to happen during the total solar eclipse, again, the moon is going to block out all of that light.

If you compare, you know, sort of your average, you know, star out there to the sun, there a difference of a few million times in brightness difference, you know.

But at the same time, I mean the sun is a star, it's just the sun is so close to us and other stars are so distant and so all of the blue sky you're used to seeing, you know, during the day is going to go away for that period of time while the moon is blocking the sunlight.

And so yes, you will be able to see stars just as if it was nighttime when you're in this total solar eclipse.

So it's going to be, you know, absolutely wild.

But the fact that the moon is very close to the earth, it appears larger to us.

The sun is actually huge compared to both the earth and the moon.

But it appears much smaller on the sky to us because it is so distant.

- Well it started with Miss Marsico, she gave them a project and it was like, give me your perspective of the eclipse.

And she came home and she was kind of excited about it at first until we started working on the project and she just took over.

Like it just, it developed, it grew into this love and inquisitiveness about the solar system.

- But you're talking about a kid who worked really hard, gave everything that she could to everything in class, not just this.

And the eclipse was just the start of that.

I remember little Mekenzie on eclipse day and this, she had this dress and it was like a solar system dress.

She's out on the sidewalk, she's looking up at the eclipse with her glasses on in her solar system dress.

I mean she was ready to go.

- After the eclipse, I just started really looking at the moon, being like, oh, it's full moon and it's real cool and I got a telescope for my birthday and this is something that I could see myself doing.

I got the opportunity to go to space camp and once I heard about space camp, I was like, hey, this is cool.

I already, you know, did the eclipse, why not explore more?

And I went to the robotics program because I was already, you know, into a little bit of robotics.

And so went to a robotics and learned to program drones, build rovers and it was really fun.

There were lots of other people in my school that went, but in the robotics program from our school counting me, there were three African American girls.

And so that made me really happy.

- That's big to, to be a kid from a small town and leaving your family for a full week.

It's a big deal.

- The sun is bright and if you stare directly at it, it will blind you, it will be very bad for your eyesight.

Do not do it.

So during partial eclipses or leading up to the total solar eclipse or even just an annular eclipse, you always need to have eye protection.

- One safe way to view an eclipse is through the use of a specialized piece of equipment known as a solar telescope.

The visible light that we see around us is typically white or what looks to be white.

And when we run that light through a prism, it separates that light into a familiar pattern called the rainbow.

One end of the rainbow is, is red light.

And in that red light there's some very interesting activity that could be seen on the sun.

So with this telescope I'm able to see a very narrow portion of that red light and all the, the, the activity going on in the chronosphere of the sun.

So that's where we can see prominences, which you can think of as flames shooting off the side of the sun.

We can see filaments which are plasma swirls or swirlies on the, on what appears to be the surface of the sun, sunspots and, and other interesting features.

- These are official NASA solar viewing glasses.

This is another way to safely look at the sun.

You have to keep 'em on during the partial phases, up to the time of totality when you can take them off.

And you have to be conscious of the time that totality ends and put 'em back on before the sun reappears.

So you need to kind of take care of them, treat them gently.

- There's a brief window of time where you can remove your eye protection and that's part of what makes a total solar eclipse so fascinating is that during totality, for that four minutes or so that we'll have this eclipse, you will be able to take off your glasses and see all these features going on because that damaging light will be mostly blocked out.

- The safest way is probably indirectly you can do something like a pinhole camera where you're essentially seeing an image of the, the eclipse on or projected on something so you're not getting direct sunlight in your eyes.

- Step one, you're going to open the box and then you're going to cut little holes on each side, but don't cut the middle 'cause you're going to need the middle.

And then once you cut those, you need to get a blank piece of white paper and cut it about the size of the bottom of the box.

And once you do that, you get some tape and you tape it on the inside at the bottom, you have to make sure it's secure and it doesn't move around at all.

And then once you get that taped on, you're going to tape the flaps shut and then you're going to get some foil and tape it right here.

And after you make sure the foil is on, you get a push pin and poke a tiny hole in there.

It doesn't need to be too big 'cause if it's too big then it won't be as accurate.

But you need to leave this side open so you can look through it because this is where the eclipse is going to be shining through to where you can see it.

You're going to be facing away from the eclipse and you're just going to look through here and you should be able to track it through this hole.

Woohoo.

- Did you ever read Hidden Figures?

Did you watch the movie?

- I watched the movie but I didn't read it.

- Do you feel inspired by Katherine Johnson?

- Probably Mary, not just because she does what I want to do.

Just seeing smart black women that look like me and just realizing that, hey, I can do this 'cause it has been done.

They've gone down in history doing this and so why can't I do it?

I can't spell this without like, you know, the cheer popping over my head.

I just never can.

- What's the cheer?

- N-E, double T, L-E, T-O-N. Like I just, - You have to do that?

- I don't have to, it just pops up.

- Well, you know the No Doubt song or Gwen Stefani song?

The banana song?

Yeah, I have to sing that to spell.

I've started doing that.

- Interesting front part.

Majors.

What are you interested in?

- Engineering number one.

Look at that.

- Yes, I am planning for college, planning early so I can get a good head start on it.

Scholarships, trying to find who has my major.

And so I've been looking at University of Alabama of Huntsville because that's where I went to space camp.

And so they have a college, they have my major and I think it'll be good.

And so going out of state would definitely give me a better opportunity of getting that degree and getting the job I want, to be an aerospace engineer at NASA.

I'm not really scared to go away from home, but I know this is something I want to do.

And so if that means that I have to leave home, then I will do it.

I want to make myself known by my own accomplishments.

- I love that.

- Am I going the wrong way?

- Wait, no, what's that one?

- Stay curious.

Ask yourself questions about everything.

You, you have to be curious about the world because curiosity is how discoveries are made.

We ask ourselves how does this work?

Why does this work?

Asking questions is essential, I think essential to everything that NASA does.

So curiosity first.

Second, you'll have to put in the work to finding the answers to the questions you've just asked.

- Did you want to try to see the planet?S - Sure.

And it is actually pretty bright.

- Is it?

- Yeah.

- That's awesome.

Try to find out again.

You got it, slow.

- Oh, got it.

Yeah.

Can you see it?

Yeah.

Looks like a tiny version of the moon.

Does it really?

You can see it, yes.

That's so cool.

You saw your first planet.

It's so cool.

Was it orange- looking like on the phone?

- Looks white like a tiny moon.

- That's sweet.

Look at you go.

We've never seen planets, just the moon.

But you good to see it.

The things you do for science, right?

- Mekenzie's goal is to be at NASA and you know, I, I will do anything I can do to help her get there.

That would, I mean, just be tremendous and I will be glad to say I had the tiniest little part in, in getting her there.

- So it's, it is not our job to put our thoughts and feelings onto them about what we think they should be in life.

We've always wanted to make sure our kids have, have had us in their corner to support them.

- Her dream is to work for NASA and be an aerospace engineer, programing rovers or sending rovers to the moon or you know, being a part of that and again, letting God be our guide.

However the chips may fall, but that's where we would, that's what we want for her, her dreams to come true.

- I'm a scientist so I want people to ask questions.

I want people to be curious.

I want younger people to be inspired to become scientists and to work for NASA.

And it's important because we need leaders who have questions and seek out answers to how the universe works.

- On my first full solar eclipse, I, I didn't, I'd heard that people will ooh and ah when it happens and I thought that was pretty silly until the event happened and I was right in there with everybody else.

It's just, you just can't control yourself.

So I think it's going to be a, a wonderful opportunity that everybody will, will really remember for the rest of their lives.

- Well this one is twice as long as the last one I saw in 2017.

It's very different than the first one I saw, which was in March, 1970.

This eclipse is very special because this partly because this'll be my last eclipse viewed as an employee of NASA because I'm going to retire in December.

Enjoy it and don't get so caught up in observing and taking pictures.

It kind of has something to do with mindfulness and being present in the moment and and really experiencing what's going on around you with all of your senses.

You feel the wind come up when totality begins, you feel the temperature drop, you see birds going to roost.

So I think, I think it's really important to give all of your senses an opportunity to experience the, the eclipse.

- So you know, there are people who probably have gone their entire lifetime without seeing an eclipse.

And certainly if you pull up like a historic map of eclipses across the US that go back a couple hundred years and a couple hundred years in the future, there are places where there are no eclipse at that, you know, specific geographic place, you know, so, so it's very fascinating in that sort of a way that we are, you know, fortunate enough to be in the place that we are.

- Record it in your mind and then you know, enjoy someone else's recording, capture that magic for you so you're not looking at it through a phone and just don't overlook it, don't take it for granted.

Really embrace this and try to find the magic in it because we are blessed that it's coming through your backyard.

- It's something special.

And so a total one, it's like once you look at it like wow it looks like the moon's on fire.

Hearing that it would happen when I was in high school or in 2024.

It's like man, that's going to be a long time and now here it is and it's like wow, I'm going to get to experience it again and it's going to be really cool.

(upbeat music) - And good afternoon and welcome to Totality Live.

Thank you so much for joining us as we get set for a once in a lifetime event in this one hour special.

This is all being brought to you through a partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

I'm Chris Kane for Arkansas PBS and thanks so much for being alongside us today.

We are thrilled to be here in Russellville, Arkansas, which was named one of the top 10 locations nationally to view this eclipse according to astronomy.com.

We have got excitement behind us as the town and all those visitors, including a group right now just behind me from Los Angeles, have come into the heart of the city, in the heart of the River Valley to take in the total solar eclipse.

Totality will begin here before the end of the hour.

We are thrilled to be alongside not only you here in Russellville, but we're going to bring you different angles to show you what this eclipse looks like statewide.

So when it comes down to where are we today, we've got locations set up in Jonesboro at Nettleton High School.

We're also set up atop Petit Jean Mountain at the Winthrop Rockefeller Center, that's one of 26 state parks in the path of totality today.

And also we are live in the southwestern portion of the state in De Queen at Samaritan Fields where totality is expected to start in about 45 minutes.

We also want to give a special shout out today to our partners on campus back in Conway at the University of Central Arkansas.

The physics and astronomy center going to be giving us some unique views as well as NASA TV.

We've got NASA scientists just roaming around behind us and we've also got local dignitaries from around the town that we're going to be speaking to about what this means for their city to be able to host the total solar eclipse.

Let's go ahead and commence this celestial celebration and I want to remind everybody to do this safely, make sure you have your total solar eclipse glasses.

Make sure they are ISO certified.

When you're taking part in this eclipse today, it is certainly something that can be fun, but it also needs to be done safely.

So have those glasses ready and if you have them ready and you happen to be near somewhere outdoors or watching outdoors, you can also take a look at it.

And right now, at this very moment, if you look, the moon has already started to traverse across the sun and so we're already starting to feel a little bit of excitement here behind us as folks are getting ready for it.

The mayor, Fred Teague, is going to be joining us here momentarily.

He's roaming around talking with citizens.

Looking at their map, they have a map in the middle of Russellville's town square here, right in front of the train depot.

And on that map you can put a pin from your location.

Of course when you look at the map, the state of Arkansas is completely covered, just about, but nationally, all 50 states represented on that map, including 32 countries.

So folks coming from all over, I mentioned the family just behind us here, off stage from California coming in just for this total solar eclipse.

We met folks from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and everywhere in between, folks coming all the way out from the west coast to the East coast.

And we are thrilled to have them here in Russellville today.

So Mayor Fred Teague going to join us here.

This is one of those that you don't get to host very often.

Arkansas doesn't have world fairs, historically.

We're not going to host a Super Bowl last time I checked.

But what do we have?

The total solar eclipse and a path to totality goes right through the heart of your town.

- Yes, it's it's amazing.

It's, the energy here is crazy.

You're with us and you can feel the energy of all these people.

50 plus states or 50, 50 states.

No we can't go 50 plus that's right.

50 states and represented.

30, 30 countries.

It's crazy.

Our airport's probably going to land, they're on target to land about 140 airplanes.

It's, it's, it's, it's crazy.

- You know, when you look at the people in the town here, you've been talking with so many 'em, I was just mentioning you met the family from California just behind us.

Yes.

What are you hearing in the feedback of people who are coming to your city for the first time to witness this?

- Man, I, I think we have one of the greatest communities in the world.

You know, Arkansas is amazing, but Russellville is just a family, a very welcoming community and everybody that I've talked to has just been very blessed and very thankful for our, our hospitality and what we've been able to do.

- And then it's not lost on you of course, and the rest of the state, the economic impact behind this.

So what kind of projections or estimations can you give us?

- I don't, I really don't know until after the end of it.

I, I think our biggest goal is not even the economic impact.

Our goal is to, to show up and show out as a community.

We're geographically located in the beautiful part with lakes, rivers, mountains, and streams.

And we want people to fall in love with Russellville and come back here and actually maybe even think about moving here.

- You look at NASA right behind us there in those tents and I know you've been able to talk with the folks over there.

How, how amazing has it been to coordinate with that agency and, and have line upon line every day that they've been out here and the community connections that you guys have forged with them?

- Oh, they're incredible.

It's, they're, they're just the most down to earth people in the world.

They're great people.

We have been grateful to make that friendship with 'em, that partnership with them.

And a huge part of the success of this event is just the, the draw of NASA, United States Rocket Center, Air National Guard, PBS doing an amazing documentary on us early on was great.

People talk about that, the Weather channel.

There's a lot of good things.

- There's a lot to be excited about today and your city is right in the middle of it all and hey, Mother Nature played a big part in it too.

- Man, it's going to beautiful.

It's incredible.

I was just looking while ago and I cannot wait to see totality.

I'm going to be right down in the middle of that crowd and just, I'm just going to soak up that energy and soak up just how amazing that experience is going to be.

No phone, it's just going to be me and people from multiple countries and all across the United States.

Just unified for that one moment.

It's going to be amazing.

- Four minutes and 12 seconds.

Yes.

We'll all be unified together.

Thank you so much Mayor Teague.

Thank you.

We really appreciate your time.

I know you're a busy man.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Get back to it and enjoy it out there today.

Thank we appreciate you.

Alright so this is one of those events as we mentioned, we are statewide.

This is an opportunity to show you different viewpoints and I mentioned a few of those locations a moment ago.

We're going to begin our coverage where totality will begin here before any of it gets to us.

It will start at the southwestern portion of the state and PBS correspondent Mackenzie Holtzclaw is live in De Queen Arkansas, Samaritan Fields and has the latest down there.

Mackenzie.

- Hi everyone, this is Mackenzie Holtzclaw from Arkansas PBS and we are in Sevier County at the Samaritan Fields in De Queen Arkansas and this is our wonderful host.

- How are you?

My name's Esteban Ochoa - And Esteban tell us about what's going on today.

- We just have a crowd here for the eclipse that, you know, we've been preparing for a while now.

We're hoping everybody gets exactly what they came here for.

We got a lot of out of towners, people from different countries so we're really excited to host them here.

- Yeah, absolutely.

So just to show you, we've got a pretty good crowd of people behind us.

They're gearing up, ready and excited for the eclipse.

We've all got our eclipse glasses on and we're excited.

Do you think today's going to be a good day?

- I think today's going to be a great day.

We, you know, we have the people here.

It's, it's looks like it's, we we're able to see it decently good.

We thought it was going to be a lot worse so we're making the best of it.

But no, we are really enjoying and have all the visitors here in Sevier County.

- Absolutely, me too.

I think we're going to go ahead and take a look and see what's going on at the top of Petit Jean Mountain.

- Hello everyone and welcome to Petit Jean Mountain.

I am Janet Harris, the executive director and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.

And we are so excited today for the total eclipse.

We're excited to host Arkansas PBS here on our beautiful campus on Petit Jean Mountain.

And we're also very honored to have the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium here doing research and learning and working together to create transformational change.

That is our mission here at the institute and we're so proud to be a part of this wonderful event.

Enjoy the total eclipse.

Back to you.

- Listen, we are super excited.

We have some of Mekenzie's team behind us.

Mekenzie, this is a wonderful moment.

Tell us how you're feeling.

- I'm so excited 'cause I mean like this is so amazing.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm so happy to be sharing this with my family and my friends.

- Absolutely.

So we found out that the solar eclipse will be coming through Arkansas in about October.

So tell us a little bit about those feelings from October all the way until now.

- In October, I was definitely surprised that it was happening, especially here and coming up this quick 'cause I mean fifth grade was like 2017 and when I found out that it was going to be in 2024, I'm like wow, that's a long time from now.

I probably won't even remember and here I am and it's going to be super exciting and cool.

- Awesome, awesome.

So tell us from 2017 to 2024, what's one of the biggest things that you were looking forward to?

- About the eclipse?

- Yes.

- I guess just definitely getting to see it again and being in that same mindset and experience and being able to watch it again and just being able to see this amazing natural event.

- Absolutely.

And you're here with some of your softball teammates, which I know we're super excited.

We're going to chat a little bit more.

We're going to send it back to Chris in Russellville.

- And welcome you back into Russellville.

Thank you.

Candace Evans in Jonesboro with Mekenzie Racy also.

Of course we had Janet Harris at Petit Jean Mountain and Mackenzie down in De Queen.

We'll hear from them as we continue on in our totality live special here on Arkansas PBS.

Now before we get to our first NASA guest this afternoon, I want to show you a video today that's featuring some history, also some tips on how to view an eclipse from a couple of future scientists you'll see.

(upbeat music) - Telescope.

- Check.

- Solar filters.

- Check.

- Ham sandwiches.

- Ham sandwiches?

- In case we get hungry, silly.

- Good thinking.

Double check.

- What are we packing all this stuff for again?

- For the total solar eclipse.

- Oh right.

Wait, what actually is a total solar eclipse?

- A total solar eclipse is when the moon passes directly in between the sun and the earth, blocking out the sun's light completely for a short time.

- So the moon covers the sun and daytime turns to night?

- Bingo.

And eclipses occurring patterns that make it easier to know when one has happened or when one will take place again.

- Whoa, that sounds like magic.

- I know, it's amazing.

Scientists have used this information to work hard and build technology that can now predict almost exactly when an eclipse will happen.

And did you know it happened in Arkansas before?

Did you know that?

- No way.

Really?

- Yep.

Once in 1834 and then again in 1918.

- That was a really long time ago.

What do you think solar eclipses were like back then?

- That's a good question.

Hmm.

I imagine they were just as excited as we are here in 1834.

Even though they didn't have smartphones or some of the modern technology that we do, newspapers across the state announced the eclipse before it happened.

- They were prepared just like us.

- Yes, the news even warned people to wear colored glasses or stay inside when the eclipse happened.

- We even use special glasses to watch the eclipse now.

How cool.

- The coolest.

And the best part about that day, the weather was perfect.

- I don't get it.

Why is the weather so important?

Well, when it's cloudy and rainy, the clouds get in the way and cover up the sun and the moon.

- So it's like trying to watch your favorite TV show and somebody putting a big blanket in front of the screen.

- That's a great way to put it.

Even though the solar eclipse is happening up there, the clouds and rain block our view so we can't see it.

- I'm so glad it was the perfect day for them.

I bet the people in 1918 were excited too.

- Well, they weren't so lucky.

It was super cloudy for that eclipse.

- Oh no.

- Well, it wasn't as bad as it sounds.

When it is cloudy, light reflects differently so it doesn't get as dark as it could.

But you can still feel the eclipse.

- Feel the eclipse?

- Feel the eclipse.

The eclipse may not be as visible when it is cloudy, but you may still see that it gets darker or the temperature may drop.

You might even hear animals and people react to what they're experiencing too.

- Feels like my superhero senses will be tilling.

- Something like that.

I hope the weather for today's eclipse is just right.

- Let's get going so we can find out.

Looks like that's everything.

- Can't forget these.

(upbeat music) - Want to welcome in a special guest now from NASA.

We are so excited to have Dr. Bob Loper, a research astrophysicist from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day, Dr. Loper.

I know it's been exciting for you guys.

What's it been like here in the city of Russellville and the connections you've made here in the community?

- It's been such a pleasure.

The city of Russellville has, has welcomed us with open arms.

We've been welcomed to the community.

We've been here almost a week now.

We got here last Wednesday night.

We've done several, several scientific presentations for the local schools and for Arkansas Tech.

And we started here at the block party on Saturday morning.

It's been amazing.

- The block party has grown.

- The block party has definitely grown today.

- It's grown and, and whenever you look at what the community has done to come together for something like this, what's it been like from a research perspective whenever you get to share the knowledge and the information that you've obtained over many years with the folks behind you?

- Oh, it's so exciting.

- Well that's something we learned about in that video that we just showed where even back in the 1800s, you know, the newspaper reports came out saying there would be an event like this.

You know, and we haven't had one here in Arkansas come through in over a hundred years.

So what is some of the technology that allows you all to be able to predict it with such great accuracy?

- Well, it's been, eclipses have been predicted for, for thousands of years.

And really all it takes is being able to calculate the, the motion of the three bodies that are involved.

The, the earth, the moon, and the sun.

And the more precisely you can calculate their positions with time, the more advanced notice you'll have of an upcoming eclipse.

- Whenever Dr. Loper's talking about these community connections, you know, that's been happening with NASA, but it's also been happening with so many others around the state of Arkansas.

And this is something we wanted to share with you.

This is a pretty cool video, pay close attention.

There's a scientific aspect like what Dr. Loper was talking about, but there was also an artistic take on the total solar eclipse as well as what NASA and the research center has been doing here over the last week.

Check it out.

- Behind me is a workshop that's specially designed for students who are English language learners.

- Do you know that Spiderman makes his own costume?

So I thought it would be fun to make something called a birthday cape.

- What they are doing is learning to transfer a pattern using grids and math.

And this design is based on a constellation that was in the night sky during their birth month.

An eclipse gives you an opportunity to think about these ideas.

- Constellations are actually stars.

The stars we see at night depend on where you are on earth.

- The arts are a way to really inspire people.

But you've got to have a hook, you've got to have something that's special, out of the ordinary, what I call a spectacle.

- Dr. Gayle Seymour of the University of Central Arkansas called me up and asked me if I would design a giant inflatable because they wanted something to help draw attention to the various events that you're having in Conway around this eclipse.

- So Luna is exactly that spectacle, literally larger than life at 25 feet tall.

- I'm proud that this is going to travel around Conway for a week and so many people are going to get to see her.

- In many of your classes, we've been talking about the solar eclipse.

If you got off the bus, you notice there was something going up in the front of the school that is a really special eclipse inspired sculpture.

We have the actual artist here.

- These were the initial drawings.

So I had to do a left side, a right side view and a back view.

- In the hallways of this school, there are some 500 plus superhero depictions inspired by Luna.

And that's just a remarkable thing to get this kind of total school buy-in.

- I did a whole lesson on Mr. Brown and that he came from this area and I think it can show them that like art can really take them anywhere.

This is a really a once in a lifetime event for myself.

It's been an incredible experience.

I'm just very thankful.

- Hopefully this will be something that kids will remember their entire life.

- The eclipse is something that everyone should be able to enjoy whether they have a disability or not.

I wanted to make sure that we were thinking of blind and visually impaired kids to know that there are other ways to experience that total eclipse.

Many people will experience it using the eclipse glasses that have a special filter in them.

Some students with remaining vision will be able to do that.

But we also will be using sound for sonification to let us know how much light there is.

We also have talking thermometers to let them know of this changes in temperature that they will be able to feel on their skin.

And then honestly we can use our ears to listen for changes in our environment, from crickets to birds.

Whether there's owls that come out as nocturnal animals.

There should be some experiences that they should be able to take in through not only what they feel in their body but also in their ears.

- The outdoor temperature is 75.3 degrees Fahrenheit.

- And what I hope that they can walk away with is that they can be curious about science and that if that leads them into a STEM, engineering, or a technical career, that they will have the tools that they need to do that as a professional in the future.

(light music) (school bus engine) - Welcome Dr. Koehn.

- How are you all doing?

- Good.

- Oh, good energy here.

Are we ready for the eclipse?

Ah, no, no, no.

One more time.

Are we ready for the eclipse?

(kids cheering) Ah, excellent.

So today we're meeting with eighth graders, ninth graders, and I think high school students this afternoon.

On a professional level, I hope they get interested in science, but on a personal level, I am hoping that they go out and they see things that they will remember and talk about for the rest of their lives.

- And when we do that, the moon's shadow is cast upon the earth.

And we're lucky here in Russellville, it's going right through the center of the state.

- It's going to get quite dark.

And during totality, you're going to be looking at a near nighttime experience.

- You will experience a drop of temperature in your body and you will feel something amazing that there is a cosmic call alignment.

So just to conclude my advice on Monday, enjoy and feel the eclipse.

- It's all about sharing a singular moment in time where the moon and the sun and the earth all line up at exactly the right point.

I have never seen a total eclipse.

I've seen many partial eclipses, but I've never been in the right place at the right time to actually see a total eclipse.

So it's, it's a very exciting time.

I'm really thrilled to be here in Russellville and I'm, I'm going to view it with a huge smile on my face.

That's how I'm going to view it.

- Okay.

So back in 2017 we experienced a partial solar eclipse.

So it was similar to what we're experiencing right now at this very moment.

And middle school students in Nettleton public schools up in Jonesboro decided to do a fun science experiment with their class.

They knew they were going to be seniors this year in 2024.

So they planted a time capsule and we were there with our cameras rolling as they opened it back up in anticipation of today's event.

(light music) - Hello and welcome to the 2017 solar eclipse.

- This is the first solar eclipse since 1918.

There's going to be another solar eclipse when we're all seniors.

We'll be burying a time capsule that we will dig out in 2024.

- None of this would be possible without our amazing science teachers, so could we please have a round of applause for them.

(applause) - Ms. Cochran, my fellow science teacher and I came up with the idea of doing a time capsule six years ago with our science students because we were looking ahead and trying to get them excited about the next eclipse, which would be a total solar eclipse.

And we knew that would happen when they are seniors.

- So Ms. Field and I knew the significance of the solar eclipse that was happening that year in 2017.

And we knew that these students would then be seniors when the next one came around.

And so we just kind of came up with the idea that a time capsules will be a great way to commemorate the day, put in some artifacts so that the students, when they're seniors, can pull all of that out and look through it and kind of just have memories of their sixth grade year.

- To me, I thought that it was just a once in a lifetime opportunity, like we wouldn't see the eclipse again.

So it was like a very special moment for me.

- It was the biggest thing that happened that year.

A week before it happened, like the whole school curriculum was based on it.

And so it was hyped up really big and it was so much fun.

- I think the time capsule to me at the time wasn't a big deal because I really didn't know what it was.

But when we started talking about it more, I was very excited 'cause I wanted to make drawings, a letter to myself, my future self.

And yeah, it was very exciting to me.

- Whenever we watched the video, I almost got teary eyed.

'cause it, it's just sweet to see like, we were so little.

At the time, I thought being a senior was so far away and here I am.

And so it was just like, it went by so fast and it was really cool to see everything.

- It was real nostalgic.

I put in a painting I did in art class of the moon covering in the sun.

And also I had a paper that had the phases of when the moon covered it all the way and partial.

- Seeing my former students was amazing.

They've grown up so much.

You know, a lot changes in six years.

That was a very special year.

It was the last year that we were Nettleton Middle School.

- I was so proud.

I was just proud of the things that they were finding.

I was proud of all of the teachers in our building at the time who put all of that work into it.

You could just tell that it was a full collaborative effort.

So I was just very proud of what we had accomplished that day and to really see it all come full circle and to see the students' faces light up with those memories.

- Dr. Loper, it's starting to get a little darker here - It is.

- And we can tell you're hearing some oohs and ahs in the crowd.

- I am.

And and we're also starting to feel the wind come in.

- Yes.

- As the, as it starts to cool down.

- So is that, is that part, is that part of the expectation?

- Par of the expectation is the, as the atmosphere cools down, it'll start rushing in.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- What, what are some of the other things we can expect when this, a lot of dogs in the crowd right now.

We've heard different things about how animals react to this.

- Yeah.

So as we get closer and closer to totality, it's going to start looking more and more like night.

And a lot of animals like to sleep at night.

And so you may find that your, your pet wants to take a nap.

- Crickets maybe start chirping in the, in the distance here.

- Yeah.

So similarly, anything that comes out at night might think it's night and it's time to get up.

- Well, fantastic.

Dr. Loper, thanks so much for your time today.

We appreciate it and this is going to be something that everyone is getting even more excited about.

We are roughly 13 minutes away.

It's 1:37 PM right now.

So roughly 13 minutes away from totality.

The darkness is continuing to fall over Russellville in a good way.

And we are excited to bring totality live to you as we continue.

In fact, we're going to continue our statewide coverage right now.

We're going to send things up to Candace Evans live at Nettleton High School in Jonesboro with a final check on the northeastern side of the state.

- Hey guys, we're back in Jonesboro, Arkansas, at Nettleton High School softball Field.

I'm Candace Evans and I'm here with Mekenzie Racy.

And as you all can see, we're getting closer to totality.

I had to take my sunglasses off so I can see.

Now it's not as bright.

Now, Mekenzie, in 2017 we did have the opportunity to see a partial eclipse.

Now we have the opportunity to see a total eclipse.

So take me through your emotions, how you're feeling.

I know this is your thing, so tell me a little bit about it.

- I'm definitely really excited that I'm getting to see a total eclipse because it's going to get really dark during the day.

And I mean, the partial didn't do that.

It was about how it is right now.

And just to see it get really, really dark is going to be super exciting and kind of cool.

- Absolutely.

So now Mekenzie, I know you are interested in space.

So tell me about your future plans.

You're a junior right now, so tell us a little bit about what the future looks like for you.

- I'm trying to go to University of Alabama, Huntsville to study aerospace engineering.

So, 'cause I, I'm also, I also really like programming things and to be an engineering in each program, especially like rovers or satellites or spaceships.

- Awesome.

Well thank you so much Mekenzie.

We're here in Jonesboro.

Chris, back to you in Russellville.

- Alright.

We welcome you back into Russellville and thank you Candace for that report from Nettleton High School.

So many exciting things they have going on up there, especially being able to open that time capsule.

Such a special moment for that senior group.

Okay, so our next guest today, I am so pleased to introduce you to David Weigel.

He is the planetarium director for the US Space and Rocket Center, the home of space camp.

- You know, I've been really looking forward to this day to see this total solar eclipse really ever since the, the last one and in 2017 that I saw first, first eclipse that I saw.

And you know, Russellville has just been so amazingly accommodating and welcoming and I couldn't think of a better place to be.

- You got a chance to speak with students, you are the home of space camp.

No better time to get students excited about Space Camp and what you all do than have their hometown witness something like this.

- Sure, sure thing.

Yeah, we, you know, my role at the US Space and Rocket Center, home of Space Camp is to engage as many people as possible and really just bring the hype for all of, to, to be NASA's voice essentially, and and art board to, to show off all the amazing discoveries and science that's being done by, you know, so many brilliant individuals both in our country and around the world all the time.

And yeah, it, it's been such a, a joy to, to share that with Russellville specifically.

- Alright, so right now it's 1:46.

Do we want to step behind?

- I think we do.

- We're getting great views from all over the state.

Huge shout out to our photo journalists that are stationed and in De Queen, Russellville.

Here we go.

We're getting some people getting excited.

Let's go ahead and step back.

All right.

And remember, and David, please explain to everybody the safety aspect of this as well.

- Absolutely.

So you, you, it is imperative that you look at the sun only through approved solar filters like these eclipse glasses right here.

And you need to keep them on until the moment of totality.

And that's when you can no longer see anything through those eclipse glasses.

So we're looking up here just a tiny little sliver.

We're looking to see the diamond ring effect or Bailey's beads, - What is it called?

- Diamond ring or Bailey's beads.

- Bailey's beads.

- This is an effect where the little last bit of sun eeking around that disc of the moon is going through just the, the sort of rough craters on the, the edge of the moon.

- It's getting even closer.

Once again, totality starting in just one minute, one minute away.

- And again, it is noticeably cooler at this point.

We, we've dropped probably, I don't know, 6, 7, 8 degrees, maybe more than that.

- Oh wow.

This is incredible.

- Very close.

So we're very close to diamond ring effect.

Got a little bit more cloud cover, but the anticipation is rising.

(crowd cheering) - Wow.

Amazing.

- It's covered.

- Unbelievable.

So we can look now without our glasses.

- That is spectacular.

- You can take 'em off and that is incredible.

- Oh my goodness.

- So the solar corona is such a pretty shape.

That's the, the diffuse outer atmosphere of our sun that's sort of streaming away all it's plasma that is shaped by the sun's magnetism and wow.

I mean that shape is incredible.

And again, this is what I was saying, you you have this idea of what to expect and you know, it, it just, it's beyond words.

- Four minutes and 12 seconds.

Certainly under that now.

But, - And you can, if you look around too, you can see some, some bright stars and planets next to it.

That bright dot next to it, to our, our sort of below there is Jupiter.

(crowd cheering) - An airplane just went by.

Bugs have emerged.

- Bugs have emerged.

- There are bugs all over our lighting over here.

(laughter) It is nighttime in their world.

- And the party is raging.

- Yes.

Looking around the city, complete darkness.

Except for that.

- Oh my goodness.

- Beautiful.

- What is it?

What is it called?

Bailey's beads?

- So Bailey's beads already happened.

So this is the, the solar corona, that's that, that tenuous thin wispy outer atmosphere that is very hot but not very bright.

- Jonesboro going through it right now.

They are in the next path of totality.

A little bit shorter time just based on where they are.

- She cried.

(laughter) (crowd cheering) - This is so cool.

(laughter) - A total eclipse!

- The sun is of course coming back out.

Patrons starting to leave as they're exiting behind us and they're heading out on the road.

So please be safe out there.

The moon's shadow continues to make its way across the sun, and it will continue to brighten up throughout the day on this gorgeous spring, early summer day here in the state of Arkansas.

But Totality Live coming to a close now, and we just want to say thank you to all of our partners during this event.

The Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, ArkansasIDEAS.

Also, we want to thank our host cities today, like De Queen, Russellville, and Jonesboro.

We'd like to say special thank you to the places that hosted us, like Nettleton High School and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain.

It has been a pleasure to bring you an event that has truly been out of this world.

I'm Chris Kane.

Thank you and have a great and safe day.

(upbeat music)