Crowds check in at CSN’s planetarium for solar eclipse
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — All eyes were on the sky Monday morning as many got the chance to check out the solar eclipse.
“It’s really cool, it kind of looks like an eyeball,” Legend Heil said.
While those in Las Vegas saw only a partial view, it didn’t stop Cindy and Legend Heil from joining the crowds of people outside the Dale Etheridge Planetarium Monday morning to catch the unique phenomenon.
“I pulled him out of school because I thought it’s an experience that you’re not going to be able to see again while you’re in school so why not come out?” Cindy Heil remarked.
It was a busy morning for planetarium manager Andrew Kerr, prepping to open the doors as early as 8 a.m.
“So here in Las Vegas, we get a partial eclipse at this time which means the moon is going to cover about 50% of the sun for us,” Kerr explained. “If you are on that path, running from Texas all the way up to Maine where it is unfortunately cloudy pretty much all along there today but you get the chance to experience totality which is when the moon is just the right distance from the Earth and the Sun is just the right distance from the Earth and the moon completely covers the Sun’s surface.”
You could feel the excitement as people took turns looking through telescopes provided by the Las Vegas Astronomical Society.
Dave Hagarty with the society said the goal is to educate the public and answer any questions they can.
“That’s what we’re trying to do is get young kids interested so they can move into a field whether it’s astrophotography or they can become a scientist of any kind,” Haggerty said.
It’s a memory Jasmine Villalpando told 8 News Now she won’t forget.
“I just love learning about everything about new stuff. Space is my favorite topic, I’ve always liked it,” Villalpando said. “It’s been really fun out here, these really don’t happen that often.”
More than 200 people came to Dale Etheridge Planetarium to see the solar eclipse. If you missed it, the next opportunity in North America won’t happen again until 2044.
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