This article was written by Amber Bhutta, class of 2019.
Catering to the excitement surrounding the solar eclipse that cancelled American Heritage’s first day of school, Broward College’s Buehler Planetarium and Observatory hosted a solar eclipse viewing event. Despite the Florida heat, hundreds of visitors lined up to safely observe the sun using Buehler’s state-of-the-art telescopes.
Susan Barnett, director of the planetarium and observatory, explained that the last eclipse as visible to the contiguous United States as this one occurred in 1979.
“That’s why there’s so much buzz around this eclipse. It’s the first time in years a solar eclipse has been this visible to people in the United States,” Barnett said.
Of the many visitors of the event was junior Thea Mckenna, who volunteers at the planetarium on a weekly basis.
“On any given day, I really enjoy coming here and learning about the stars, astrophysics and things like that. I’m just glad that so many people are here who can share my passion,” she said.
For anyone interested in learning about outer space beyond the scope of the eclipse, the Buehler Planetarium and Observatory is open every Wednesday night from 7p.m. to 10p.m.
