Mr. Brock Hoover, a physics teacher at DSST: Montview, went out of state to experience the widely observed and highly important solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024. He traveled out of state to experience this and brought back some stories about his unique experience compared to what we at school could see.

“I went…in the national forest in Arkansas, so, northwest Arkansas, just north of the town of Hector.”

He thinks that the experience of the total solar eclipse is important as there is nothing that could compare to its full uniqueness and to experience it is incredibly interesting. However, he also thinks that it is not needed to experience the total solar eclipse to be happy and content.

“I think if you have never seen an eclipse in your life you can live a fine life. It is an experience that is unique in the sense that you cannot do anything else in this world that will give you the same experience.”

He describes the total solar eclipse as the closest thing that you can get to being on another planet or another place due to its stunning visual spectacle.

“It’s the closest to being on another planet because the sun is just a constant.”

Mr. Hoover describes its uniqueness as a truly beautiful spectacle.

“It’s such a unique thing that it allows you to take a moment to think about your place and think about how fortunate you are to experience these things and to experience fleeting beauty.”

Additionally, Hoover explains how it is unexperienceable as you cannot experience it without being there and that no technology could compare to being there to watch an actual solar eclipse.

“Even if I got a VR set, it would not be the same as being there as the animals react, the temperature drops, everything. You can’t experience it without experiencing it.”

When asked about the significance of the solar eclipse from a scientific perspective, he revealed that it is more of a geometrical experience rather than a large scientific wonder.

“The geometry of it, it [the moon] being the perfect size, it [the solar eclipse] is more mathematical.”

However, he does state that it does have some significant scientific applications, such as studying the allusive corona of the sun. The corona is a spot around the sun that is usually hard to study, during the eclipse it is very easy to see. 

“The study of the corona and understanding the corona better has been pushed forward. It has also been used to prove the theory of relativity… it has had important scientific aspects.”

He mentions that when viewing the eclipse, it is not just the magnificent celestial objects in the sky that you might enjoy, but also the people that you can meet.

“I think one of the cool things about the eclipse is that you are there with people from all walks of life so you are also having a cultural exchange as well.”

Hoover also mentions that there are people from all over the world who were there to experience this rare occurrence.

“There are people who travel across the world, there are people there who are there are just like ‘I heard of this really cool thing’, and those who have driven like an hour or two, some who drove for 18, some who flew from another continent.”

He ends it by stating that overall, the experience is great. He spoke of his experience with the solar eclipse, he talked about its scientific importance as well as its mathematical significance, and lastly, he spoke of its cultural significance. If you want to learn more about Mr. Hoover’s experience with the solar eclipse, I suggest that you ask him yourself.