SEMO Eclipse Expo prepares public for upcoming total solar eclipse
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – “You have to see it to believe it.”
This according to Southern Illinois University professor Corrine Brevik, with the “it” being a total solar eclipse, and Brevik said doesn’t matter who you are.
“You don’t have to be a scientist, you don’t have to love astronomy,” she said. “It’s a life-altering personal experience for each of us in our own way.”
The next total solar eclipse will be April 8, 2024, and both Brevik and Southern Illinois Eclipse Steering Committee Co-Chair Robert Baer said you won’t want to miss it because it won’t happen in the area for another 20 years.
“The stars will come out, the temperatures will drop, and you’ll be able to see the outer layers of the sun that we normally don’t get to see, and it is mind-blowing,” Brevik said.
“It’s just chilling, it’s sublime, it’s indescribable, and so from the very first one that I saw, I still get that feeling when I see them, that this is pretty incredible to see the solar atmosphere,” Baer said.
Jackson Hill attended Saturday’s SEMO Eclipse Expo with his son, and while he has a great interest in science, he is thankful to not have to travel very far to see the eclipse.
“If it was a couple of states over, we’d be able to go there, but we don’t have to even do that, so we don’t have to do any extra planning,” he said. “We just get to hang out, find a good spot to view it, and grab our safety gear, and then we’re good to go.”
