On Thursday, August 21, I attended the first day of the second American Astronomical Society U.S. Solar Eclipse workshop. The first workshop took place at the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland, April 14 and 15, 2012. This one took place at the University of Missouri in Columbia. About 50 attendees listened to a number of presentations, including one that I gave, all related to the total solar eclipse that will sweep from Oregon to South Carolina on August 21, 2017.
One of the cool things organizers scheduled during the 2017 eclipse workshop was for attendees to eat a quick box lunch at a small public park near the University of Missouri and then set up solar telescopes and show passersby the Sun. // Michael E. Bakich
Some programs were scientific in nature, while others described activities attendees were planning during the great event. Rather than describe the presentations, I’ll point you to
this page where you can see and hear each brief program. (You can tell which one is mine because the still image shows me in my red
Astronomy shirt.)
I’d like to thank the American Astronomical Society and the National Science Foundation for making this valuable event possible. On a local level and representing the University of Missouri, Angela Speck kept us on point and made things happen. You'll hear lots more from her as she plans for the passage of the Moon's shadow over Columbia.
I made lots of great contacts and got some new ideas from people who are definitely thinking out of the box. Day two will be the workshop day, which I’m certain will contain many more ideas.