Solar Eclipses occur only when a “celestial body”, in this case the moon, passes directly in front of the sun, enough to cause a momentary black out. According to NASA, the last witnessed Eclipse in the United States was in 1991, and approximately 500 million people were able to watch the 2017 Eclipse. However, the “Path of Totality”, meaning areas where the moon completely eclipses the sun and causes a blackout, only was visible in 14 states across America. People were encouraged to buy special viewing glasses to protect their eyes from permanent damage, and millions went all across the nation just to see this natural phenomenon.
Hillgrove had its own private viewing party for the Eclipse that school day in the Stadium. Students went with their fourth block classes, received glasses, and were able to lay around and watch the event unfold as it got to Georgia. Unfortunately, we weren’t in the Path of Totality, but the Eclipse was still exciting as ever, and a great community event for Hillgrove and other Cobb County Schools.
Current Hillgrove Senior Grace Mize watched the Eclipse at Hillgrove, and as an astronomy student really enjoyed the whole day. She recalled the day as a lot of fun, and a nice break from school for something that seemed more interesting (compared to math class that is). When asked how Hillgrove handled the whole thing, she immediately responded with
“They handled well, and really cared about everyone getting a good experience. They [hillgrove staff] were really prepared.”
The experience was fun for almost everyone who stayed and witnessed the Eclipse, and even though there was some learning involved, it was thoroughly enjoyed by the students!
However, a lot of Hillgrove students also left campus that day to go watch the Eclipse happen elsewhere.There was a viewing at UGA, numerous spots in North Carolina, and even a large group of people at Kennesaw Mountain. Junior, Conner Lord, went with a group of friends to North Carolina to see the Eclipse in totality. He described how fun the experience was, and what a good trip it was, but his only worry seemed to be with the quality of the glasses.
Rumors were constantly going around about glasses and the chance of having fake ones at Hillgrove, as well as those people who went elsewhere not knowing how or where to buy them. These speciality glasses were needed to view the eclipse in order to prevent permanent eye damage, and without that safety there could’ve been serious issues.
Head of the Science Department at Hillgrove, Ms. Bisesi, told me the quality of Hillgrove’s glasses was never an issue up in the air or any kind of issue, seeing she was the one that bought them. As an astronomy minor, she was very excited about the eclipse, and loved getting to teach her students everything she knew about it. When asked about her dream plans for the eclipse, she laughed and replied with “I plan on going in 2024, I’m leaving school, I don’t care!”
Hillgrove surely made their mark on the 2017 Eclipse, and hopefully they step up their game for the next one in 2024, which will surely be an even bigger occasion.
Photo Credit: www.newsweek.com
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