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The Research Center for Educational Technology (RCET) and the School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies (TLC)  have been awarded a grant through Cosmic Picture’s media and education project, Einstein’s Incredible Universe (EIU).  The project aims to engage young women and youth in citizen science investigations centered around the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse (TSE). The main goals of the EIU project are to educate the public about the important scientific principles that organize our universe; excite people about space science exploration; emphasize the importance of creativity to innovation in science; and create spaces that build STEM identity and foster scientific belonging for young people, especially young women.

As one of the participating organizations on the path of totality, project directors Dr. Annette Kratcoski and Dr. Lisa Borgerding will lead a team of pre-service teacher education students to collect and contribute astrophysical data for scientific study during this important astronomical event. The Â鶹¾«Ñ¡team will be part of the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative which represents a North American network of more than 70 citizen scientist solar observation teams in Mexico, Canada, and across the USA. Each participating team received state-of-the-art telescopes, cameras, and other equipment needed to safely observe and study the Sun.  Using identical instruments, each team will capture moment-by-moment images of the Sun’s inner corona – only observable during a total solar eclipse. Teams will upload HDR images of the eclipse in near real-time to a centralized hub on the DEB website. Anyone visiting the website will be able to watch as observing sites along the path sequentially experience the eclipse. The DEB team will process and analyze the full-resolution files in the weeks following the eclipse. One of the major goals of the DEB Initiative is to research the poorly understood interactions between the Sun’s visible surface, or photosphere, and the corona.  This requires being able to see a detailed cross-section that includes all of the different regions of the Sun’s atmosphere. Combining simultaneous observations from locations both inside and outside of totality will make that study possible.

Einstein’s Incredible Universe is produced by Cosmic Picture and executed in partnership with the Great Lakes Science Center, the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale, the National Girls Collaborative Project, and educational research firm Rockman et al. It is funded by the National Science Foundation with specific project components also funded by NASA.  

Our Team  Follow our team's progress

Join us at our watch site on April 8th!

Risman Plaza 
Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Main Campus
1:45 - 4:30 pm

WATCH THE ECLIPSE WITH US!

Eclipse timeline:

• Start of the partial eclipse at 1:59 pm EST
• Start of the total eclipse at 3:14 pm EST
• Maximum total eclipse (in totality) at 3:15:54 pm EST
• End of total eclipse at 3:17 pm EST
• End of partial eclipse at 4:29 pm EST