Something very big is going on Sunday night that you don’t want to miss--a total eclipse of the Moon.
“The eclipse is going to start around 7 o’clock, and it should continue ‘til roughly 10:30.”
Rick Varner is Director of theScobee Education Center. He says that while you’ll be able to see the eclipse with just your eyes, the Scobee has a better idea.
"We’re going to make it possible to look through telescopes to do that. We have the observatory on the Powell Star Deck that’ll be open. And we’ve invited the San Antonio Astronomy Association," he said. "The Moon is at perigee, which makes it a little closer to the earth. So it appears about 10 to 14% larger.”
They’re bringing in a bunch of telescopes for the public to look through. They will be issuing tickets to people who come--free tickets--so they can go up on the Star Deck and look through those telescopes.
“And our astronomy department will have some of the professors and their students setting up telescopes. We’re also going to make available the main gallery of the Ewing Halsell Hall here for artists who will be exhibiting art connected to the Hispanic Heritage Month.”
Varner says the event will also be more than just visual.
“One of the local library groups has a storytelling association and they will be coming out and telling folk stories that are also associated with celestial events.”
Besides that impressive stack of free entertainment, he says there’s something more people can expect to find, something a bit intangible.
"Typically there’s a lot of interesting conversations that take place during any kind of a community gathering like that. Should be a fun event.”
For more on the Lunar Eclipse Event at the Scobee Education Center, go here.
