DAVID STONE
All eyes will be on the sky April 8 for a rare celestial treat, and many of those planning to view this once-in-a-lifetime event will be heading to Central Texas.
Although the total solar eclipse is still more than 250 days away, the event is generating a buzz. Some Temple area hotels are already booked solid and another is enticing visitors with a unique giveaway.
So what’s causing all the excitement? According to experts, Temple-area residents will have the rare opportunity to view a total solar eclipse with an emphasis on “total.”
“A solar eclipse takes place when the moon lines up between the earth and the sun,” said Dr. Richard Tresch Fienberg, program manager for the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Eclipse Task Force and co-author of Astronomy for Dummies.
“The moon orbits the Earth in an oblong manner — it’s not a perfect circle,” he said. “So, there are times when the moon is actually closer to us. That will be the case April 8. Since it will be closer, the moon will appear larger than the sun, totally blocking it out as it passes between Earth and the sun.”
In Texas, the “path of totality” will cut a 115-mile wide swath across the state, and Temple, Belton and much of the surrounding area will fall within that path, Fienberg said.
“Locations inside the path will go dark really fast,” he said. “It will go from bright and sunny to something like an overcast day once the eclipse begins, light will fade until it reaches the equivalent of twilight, and the temperature will noticeably drop. This is when the show really begins.”
Fienberg said during total eclipse, the corona — the wispy outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere — will be exposed.
“It’s always there, but we normally can’t see it because the sun is so bright,” he said. “With the sun blocked, we will be able to admire its true beauty.”
While the sun shouldn’t be viewed with the naked eye during partial eclipse stages, it is safe to look at and photograph the total eclipse. Partial eclipses can be viewed with special “solar” or “eclipse” glasses, Fienberg said.
The spring total eclipse will begin at 12:19 p.m. in the Temple area, he said.
“That’s when the moon takes its first nick out of the sun. The partial phase will last about 75 minutes as the moon moves into position and the sun is slowly blocked. Beginning at 1:37 p.m., the moon will totally cover the sun for 3 minutes and 45 seconds, then there will be another 75 minutes as the moon moves on. It will all be over by 3 p.m.”
Michael Zeiler, an eclipse expert who co-publishes GreatAmericanEclipse.com with his wife, Polly White, uses special software to analyze the economic impact eclipses can have on the economy. He said hard-core eclipse chasers, as well as casual curiosity seekers, will flock to locations within the path of totality to experience the rare astronomical event.
“Nearly 13 million people in Texas live within the eclipse’s path, and another 720,000 may travel to the path of totality to experience it,” Zeiler said. “This could be a big boon to the Lone Star state’s economy.”
Zeiler pointed out that during a solar eclipse in 2017, Nashville hosted approximately 91,500 overnight visitors and direct visitor spending was estimated at $28.8 million. He said he understands the lure a solar eclipse can have.
“Polly and I are eclipse chasers,” he said. “We’ve seen 11 total solar eclipses all over the world. Eclipse chasing is sort of like storm chasing, but instead of searching for the worst weather possible, we want perfect conditions for viewing the sky.”
“I’ll tell you this — a total solar eclipse lives up to the hype,” he said. “It truly is other-worldly. It’s like a black shadow rushing over you. It goes from the dim daylight of a partial eclipse to twilight in seconds. It’s a remarkable thing to see.”
Zeiler said it is impossible to predict how many people will travel to a specific location because there are many variables. Many cities will have viewing parties to attract people, and some of those locations are big draws.
“The city of Temple is aware that it will fall within the path of totality during the April 8 solar eclipse,” said Nohely Mackowiak, a spokesperson for the city. “The city is in the early stages of planning to figure out how we can best serve our residents and guests during this extraordinary celestial event.”
Although viewing activities are still in the planning process, visitors have already committed to coming to Temple to witness the total eclipse first hand.
“We are getting a lot of interest for the days around the eclipse,” said Sarah Japalucci, director of sales and marketing for Holiday Inn Temple-Belton. “We’re more than 20 percent full already, and I know some Temple hotels are full.”
Japalucci said Holiday Inn Temple-Belton is offering a package deal for the occasion.
“We are offering a two-night deal that includes a free pair of eclipse glasses,” she said. “I bought about 150 pair last year when I found out Temple would be an ideal place to view the event. I figured eclipse glasses might be hard to find as April 8 gets closer.”
“A lot of folks don’t just want to come for the event and leave — some are planning to arrive on Friday and stay through Tuesday,” Japalucci said.
According to hotel websites, Best Western, Hilton Garden Inn and other lodges do not have room availability for April 7-8, 2024.
A 17-acre solar farm is located on the southern edge of Tarrant Lake on the Olin E Teague Veterans Center campus in Temple. The farm — built in two phases — produces about 8 gigawatts of power that is used exclusively at the campus. David Stone photo
Sunshine keeps VA green
Temple VA generates 25 percent of its electricity needs
DAVID STONE
Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular across Texas, but the Olin E Teague Veterans Center in Temple has been green for years.
The facility lights its own streets and parking lots, and generates about 25 percent of all electricity used at the campus.
The VA facility started its alternative energy program in 2009 with the installation of solar power light standards on campus streets and in parking lots.
“Right now we have 366 light poles that are powered by solar panels,” said George Wokoma, the VA Temple’s energy engineer since 2007. “We started installing the light-pole solar panels in 2009.”
“Power is stored in batteries so we have light at night,” he said. “We could actually go three nights in a row without sunshine and keep the lights on. If we should have a power outage, we can still have lights around campus.”
While the light poles were the VA’s first green energy project, they are not the biggest. That honor goes to the 17-acre solar farm on the shores of Tarrant Lake, a private reservoir on the east side of the VA campus.
“Our farm generates about 8 gigawatts of electricity a year, and 100 percent of that power is used right here at the Temple VA,” Wokoma said. “It provides about a quarter of our energy needs.”
“It’s actually two farms,” he said. “We installed 12,320 solar panels in 2012, then added 10,090 panes in 2013.”
Solar panels work by absorbing sunlight with photovoltaic cells, generating direct current (DC) energy and then converting it to usable alternating current (AC) energy before being used inside VA campus buildings, he said.
Wokoma said the center likely will add additional panels in the future, but not at the solar farm.
“The original plans for the new parking garage that’s under construction called for putting about 500 solar panels on the roof,” he said. “We had to scale back plans because of construction costs and that has been cut, but we have the plans and hope to implement them in the future.”
The Department of Veteran Affairs awarded $56.7 million in contracts in 2011 to build solar systems at five VA medical centers, including the Olin E Teague Veterans Center in Temple.