From: Dee Iyer
Columbus
My name is Dee Iyer, and I am a sophomore at Columbus North High School. I have had a fascination with astronomy and astrophysics for many years. As you may be aware, a total solar eclipse will be crossing over the continental United States, along with other North American countries, on April 8, 2024. I was fortunate enough to experience a total solar eclipse during the August 2017 solar eclipse from Carbondale, Illinois, which was a prime location for viewing totality.
It was a breathtaking experience, to say the least, and ever since I found out about this eclipse taking place just seven years later I have had an idea in mind. Our city, Columbus, lies directly in the path of totality for the 2024 eclipse. I noticed the ways that Carbondale, which is a far smaller town with only half of the population that Columbus has, benefited from the eclipse. It would be a wonderful opportunity for our town if we planned something similar.
The city of Carbondale, which is a campus town for Southern Illinois University, prepared for and promoted the eclipse in many ways. First, they invited NASA videographers and scientists conducting atmospheric experiments to SIU’s campus, from where they broadcast the live stream of the eclipse. Next, they opened up the student housing on campus to the public, providing three days of residence for people unable to find hotel rooms. On campus, various STEM and eclipse-related activities were organized to keep people occupied for the days before the eclipse. Lastly, nearly every business in the town was able to build an eclipse-related theme.
Due to the more than 15,000 visitors, all of these businesses were able to generate a great deal of revenue. Carbondale itself gained fame as the “Eclipse Crossroads of America,” since it lies in the path of the 2024 eclipse as well.
I believe Columbus has a wonderful opportunity to do something similar to what Carbondale did. Ideally, an event like this could put our city on the national map. We have just under four minutes of totality, which is an ideal time just short of the four-and-a-half minute peak. I believe that if we start preparations now, we can promote Columbus and make it an ideal location to view the 2024 eclipse. We have the opportunity to boost STEM awareness in the community, help local businesses and promote future tourism.
According to TIME magazine, it took Carbondale three years of planning to pull the event off. There are many possibilities of what we could do with the seven years available now. NASA already has a website with specifications about the eclipse. Typing “google map 2024 eclipse nasa” into the search bar and clicking on the first result should lead to the interactive map.
Once again, this is a wonderful opportunity that we should seize and turn into something significant.
