JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Hundreds of people on the University of North Florida’s campus had their eyes to the sky Monday to try to catch a glimpse of the eclipse.
Folks at the UNF watch party will always remember where they were during the Great American Eclipse of 2024.
“Astronomy is really cool, and I feel the more people are interested in it, the better it is for us as a society," said UNF Astrophysics Student Gabrielle Forbes.
Forbes decided to pursue astrophysics at the University of North Florida because of her love of the stars.
The great American eclipse gave her an opportunity to share that love with other folks in Jacksonville – as the astronomy club set up a telescope so people could get a view that would last a lifetime.
“The UNF physics students are teaching them how to use the telescope," said Forbes. "That’s awesome, hopefully even one of the kids will want to pursue it in college or something.”
Kids like Dane Shaffer, who says watching the eclipse is just the beginning of his astronomy career.
“I like space," said Shaffer. "I want to be, like, a space exploration person.”
Some eclipse viewers were able to use their lenses creatively, putting them over their phone cameras to capture one of a kind pictures.
For others – the eclipse meant one of a kind badges.
“We’re part of the Cub Scout pack 63 off San Pablo, and we’re going to do our badge for the solar eclipse," said Michael Sport as he watched the eclipse with his family.
Forbes is just excited to see so many people sharing her love for astronomy – if only for a day.
“There’s so many good things that come out of learning even a little about astronomy," said Forbes.
Now the countdown begins for the next eclipse in more than two decades, so the astrophysics students at UNF are hoping this watch party will encourage kids to take an interest in astronomy along the way.