MUNCIE, Ind. — On April 8, one year to the day after the total solar eclipse came through Muncie, the Charles W. Brown Planetarium will host a viewing party where attendees can see the Sun through telescopes.
Two types of telescopes, Coronado and Schmidt-Cassegrain, will be used to view the closest star to Earth. The Coronado in particular will be used to view a certain type of light known as Hydrogen-alpha (H-alpha) light.
Assistant professor at Ball State University, Todd Vaccaro, said this kind of light can be seen by a few factors, but it can’t always be detected.
“It is very reddish because it is in the red area of the wavelength range,” Vaccaro said. “It is very narrow–around 653 nanometers, for example. And so, you’ll see features you can’t normally see or can’t see with any other sort of filter.”
However, the biggest factor in allowing the public to find this kind of light on the Sun depends on the weather. Daytime temperatures are expected to be above freezing to the 40s by the afternoon.
But rain can still make or break the event, which will be moved to a later date should it be rained out. Vaccaro says even with short notice, such events should not be broadcast for some time, only to be postponed for a later time.
“It is kind of short notice in some cases,” Vaccaro said, “but that’s kind of the realm in which we work. You can’t advertise it well in advance, and then we have to cancel things.”
But rain or shine, the event will be open for the entire public to attend. Along with the telescopes, there will be staff members of the planetarium and astronomy department available and signboards to help answer any questions attendees might have.
The event will be outside the Cooper Science Building on its north side, along Riverside Avenue. Admission is free of charge.
The next events for the Charles W. Brown Planetarium will have Friday and Saturday night shows, including a documentary narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and a “Magic Treehouse” show for children. Visit the planetarium’s events page for more information.
Contact Evan Shotts with comments at evan.shotts@bsu.edu.
