2023 11/16

SWMI AMS/NWA Chapter Meeting Minutes

Thursday, November 16

Grand Rapids Public Museum 

272 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Officers Present: Alana Dachtler, Warren Wheeler, Aubrey Papke

Attendance: Sara Flynn, William Marino, Cort, Kim, & Hadley Scholten, Bill DeVries, Matt Kirkwood, Tom Ostorbaan, Bill Ostorbaan.

Call to order: 7:00 pm 

“Last Chance to Plan Now to See the Great 2024 Total Solar Eclipse”

By: Dave DeBruyn and George Lessens.

The SWMI AMS/NWA Chapter and The Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Group are joined together tonight to listen to Dave DeBruyn and George Lessen's presentation of an upcoming solar eclipse in April of 2024.

Facts about Eclipses:

-Solar eclipses are extraordinarily rare 

-Solar eclipses happen every 18 months 

-Lunar eclipses are a lot more commonly observed than solar eclipses 

-We can have up to 5 eclipses in a calendar year but typically 2 lunar and 2 solar

-The closer you are to the center of the pathway of the eclipse the longer duration and better you will see the eclipse. You can't be satisfied somewhere near the edge you must emerge. 

-The shadow is moving approx 1000 mph on the earth 

-The centerline is the sweetline

-Eye protection is very important - eclipse glasses or a pinhole projector 

Why do we have eclipses so rarely? 

-As the moon travels its orbit around the earth it is slightly tipped about 5 degrees, therefore if an eclipse is to occur the moon has to be very close to one of the two nodes in its cycle, and a full moon or new moon. 

-Every 6 months we have eclipses where we have a lunar eclipse and 2 weeks later one of the sun and again 2 weeks later vice versa but not everyone sees it.

Other unique occurrences:

-A supermoon is only 17 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than a “normal moon” 

-An annular eclipse (ring of fire eclipse) happens when the face of the moon completely covers the sun and the last one occurred about a month ago across the western half of the country from lower Oregon to lower Texas. 

-The last total eclipse exactly over West Michigan was June 16, 1806, and the next will be September 14, 2099. 

2024 Eclipse:

-The eclipse in 2024 will be on April 8, 2024

-This upcoming eclipse will sweep across in 30 minutes

-The 2024 eclipse will be about a minute longer than the 2017 eclipse.

-This eclipse is going thru lots of large cities in this eclipse.

-Its closer part goes through to West Michigan through Cleveland which is a 4.5 hour drive and will hit there about mid-afternoon

-Bright starts Capello and all five naked-eye planets are going to be in the vicinity of the eclipse, specifically Jupiter and Mars. 

-Eclipse starts at 1:55 pm EDT and max eclipse 94 percent about 3:11 pm EDT

Dave shows a clip of the 2017 eclipse that took about 1.5 hours to sweep from Mexico to Canada.

Dave's eclipse experiences:

-The first ones he saw were in the years 1963 and 1970

-Dave likes watching eclipses on cruise ships in 1973 and 1998 

-In 1991 abroad the Viking serenade from the Sea of Cortez

Larry Campbell made a montage of a solar eclipse throughout its phases 

George starts his 44th anniversary as a broadcast meteorologist for WZZM tomorrow and Dave explains George's life story and history as a meteorologist.

Dave wraps up and George walks up to the stage 

George's eclipse experiences:

-George has experienced two eclipses in 2017 and an eclipse 3 weeks ago both in Oregon

Cloud coverage effects: 

-George says the most ideal spot to see the eclipse would be in Mexico and the least ideal are the more northern states with a lot higher cloud coverage

-George shows some similar pictures of cloud coverage that Dave had in different areas on the eclipse path

-Here in Grand Rapids its a 50 / 50 chance of seeing the eclipse but probably less likely with Michigan's intermittent weather.

Last-minute tips from Dave and George:
-If you have relatives near the path, inform them you are coming to visit
-Remember the “golden half-hour” be somewhere close to the center line
-Be flexible; you may have to move several hundred miles if you ‘really want to see it’
-Don't over-plan those precious four minutes!
-Expect traffic jams and delays. Loose sleep but have a post-eclipse plan to crash.  

Dave and George share some past anecdotes of their travels and trips for eclipses.
Dave and George open up to questions and comments from the group.
Meeting adjourned at approximately: 9:00 pm