Central Missouri astronomer views eclipse from Cape Girardeau
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Central Missouri Astronomical Association had been looking forward to Monday's solar eclipse for around 25 years.
The group's Val Germann spoke with ABC 17 News Anchor Morgan Buresh during a live broadcast Monday about what makes the 2024 solar eclipse so special. He said his club has been gearing up for this event for decades.
"It first got on the radar because we had this double eclipse about 25 years ago," Germann said. "Our club actually had T-shirts back in the 1990s for this."
He was set up in Cape Girardeau on Monday near the Southeast Missouri State University campus. He said the sun was shining as he prepared to photograph the eclipse. He had special equipment to photograph the eclipse, including a solar filter and an interval timer.
Germann said there are some differences between the 2024 eclipse and the 2017 eclipse, with this year's event being almost twice as long in totality as that in 2017. He said there will also be better viewing.
"The sun is very active right now, we're very near solar maximum, and that will mean that the corona, the solar atmosphere, will be very large, I think, compared to 2017," Germann said. "So, this eclipse could be even more spectacular-appearing to the eye."
He said two total solar eclipses happening in Missouri within seven years is unique.
"My programming goes forward a thousand years and back almost that far and it hasn't happened," Germann said. "So, for our location, this is unique."
