During Monday’s total solar eclipse, the sky went dim, street lights turned on and crickets started chirping.

While most people were looking up through eclipse viewers, Kentucky Mesonet and White Squirrel Weather, two meteorology groups, were looking at how the environment was changing.

White Squirrel Weather, a weather monitoring service at WKU, was tracking environmental changes from the roof of the Environmental Sciences and Technology Building, or EST, during the eclipse.

Joshua Durkee, an associate professor of meteorology who works with White Squirrel Weather, said he was surprised by how dark campus got during totality.

“I truly didn’t think it was going to look like that in Bowling Green,” Durkee said.

Durkee said he expected the changes they monitored to be consistent with environmental changes that occur when the sun goes down, but they were interested to see “to what extent” those changes occurred.

“I was a little surprised that it happened to the extent that it did,” Durkee said.

Durkee said the White Squirrel Weather team observed the temperature drop between five and seven degrees across campus, depending on where you were on campus. They also observed the humidity increase by about 10 percent on campus, which is consistent with what happens when the sun sets.

He also said they observed the atmospheric pressure decreasing throughout the day, but during totality, the atmospheric pressure rose. Durkee said when the pressure is rising, it “stabilizes the environment” and everything “gets quiet.”

“Everything just kind of sat still during that moment,” he said.

He said White Squirrel Weather recorded the solar radiation drop to zero during totality, as well as the ultraviolet index drop to zero.

While Durkee said most of what they observed was expected, there were a few measurements he was surprised by.

White Squirrel Weather has three weather stations across campus that measure a variety of environmental factors. One of those stations is in L.T. Smith Stadium. Durkee said in addition to measuring weather conditions in the stands, they also measure the turf and ground temperatures.

Durkee said the temperature of the turf on the football field only dropped two to three degrees during totality, as opposed to the five to seven degree temperature drop throughout the rest of campus. Additionally, the turf didn’t drop to its lowest temperature until totality this had actually ended.

Durkee said likely happened because of the material turf is made of and the way the material absorbs the sun’s energy. Durkee compared the change in temperature of the turf to “taking a pan off the stove,” saying it doesn’t cool off immediately.

Melissa Griffin, a quality assurance specialist for Kentucky Mesonet at WKU, was also standing on top of EST during totality. Kentucky Mesonet is a statewide “network of automated weather and climate monitoring stations” being developed at WKU, according to their website.

Griffin said as the eclipse approached totality, she noticed the wind speed drop, birds going quiet and crickets beginning to chirp.

“It was definitely throwing off the regular rhythms of nature,” Griffin said of the few moments of totality.

Griffin said in areas that experienced totality throughout the state, solar radiation dropped to zero at all locations, because the moon was completely blocking the sun. In areas of the state that only experienced a partial eclipse, solar radiation levels still dropped, although not to zero, Griffin said.

Temperatures also dropped as the eclipse approached totality. Griffin said she expected temperatures to drop by approximately five degrees, but in some places around the state, they dropped as much as ten degrees.

“It was definitely interesting to observe,” Griffin said.

Kentucky Mesonet’s data showed the temperature drop about 6 degrees during totality. At the WKU Farm, where Kentucky Mesonet has a monitoring station, the temperature dropped from 89.9 degrees before the eclipse to 84 degrees during totality. Another Kentucky Mesonet station, located near the Corvette Museum, showed the temperature dropping from 90.3 degrees to 84.8 degrees during the eclipse, Griffin said.

Griffin also said Kentucky Mesonet was gathering information on solar radiation, temperature, and wind speed every three seconds during the eclipse, instead of every five minutes as they usually do. Griffin said the complete data set is available on the Kentucky Mesonet website to view.

News editor Monica Kast can be reached at 270-745-6011 or monica.kast187@topper.wku.edu.

WKU freshman Hannah Martin raised her solar viewer to her eyes as she looked up at the sky above L.T. Smith Stadium.

Martin had gone to the football stadium with two of her friends to catch a glimpse of the total eclipse.

“It’s once in a lifetime,” Martin said as she talked about the eclipse.

Neither Martin nor her friends, freshmen Tavias Babb and Hailey Wilkinson, had ever seen an eclipse, but Martin said her mom had seen a total solar eclipse and told her that everything goes dark and some night animals come out.

All three freshman said they thought it was cool to be starting their first day of college on the day of the solar eclipse. Babb said he’s not a superstitious person, but he hoped things would go well, especially since the eclipse occurred on their first day at WKU.

“As long as [the eclipse] goes as it’s supposed to go, it’ll be alright,” Babb said referring to the start of college.

Wilkinson, however, had other concerns.

“As long as I don’t lose my eye sight,” she said with a laugh.

Reporter Emma Collins can be reached at 270-745-6011 or emma.collins399@topper.wku.edu.

Three WKU students used the historic eclipse as a way to bond and spend time together.

Florence sophomore Shante Smith, Cincinnati sophomore Nyill Brooks and Louisville sophomore Shante Parker all watched the eclipse wearing matching “Keep Calm and Eclipse On” shirts.

Brooks said their friend group was extremely excited about the total eclipse in Bowling Green. To show their enthusiasm they bought the matching shirts from Kroger and wanted to spend the whole day together.

Brooks was glad WKU had dedicated the entire day to the eclipse and cancelled classes until 4:00 p.m. The group first came outside to watch the sun at 1:00 p.m., when the majority of the sun was covered.

Brooks was interested in watching the eclipse because it may be the only time he is this close to one, and said he was lucky to be at WKU. He said it was exciting to see the transformation of their environment while the moon was passing the sun.

The eclipse wasn’t exactly what Brooks expected and he described it as a “pitch black circle.” Smith said as the sun was completely covered by the moon, she was screaming from excitement.

While experiencing the eclipse was exciting, Brooks said it was also a bonding moment for the three friends.

“We had each other and wanted to be together,” Brooks said.

Reporter Rebekah Alvey can be reached at 270-745-6011 and rebekah.alvey660@topper.wku.

Centre College sophomore and Philadelphia native Zahra Ortiz got to check watching a total solar eclipse off her bucket list today.

“This is the coolest thing of my life,” Ortiz said after watching the moon totally cover the sun on Monday afternoon.

Ortiz has known about the total eclipse and the best places to watch it for a long time. Her father works as an opthamologist and has been texting her “profusely” warning her to get appropriate glasses.

Ortiz said she was nervous about eye damage during the eclipse and brought special welding goggles her dad ordered.

Originally, Ortiz said she planned on going to Hopkinsville, where viewers experienced longer totality, but decided to go with Reagan Lynn, her Centre College roommate, to Bowling Green out of concern for traffic.

Today was the first time Ortiz had been to WKU and said it was exciting to experience the eclipse here. Ortiz and Lynn watched the eclipse together on South Lawn with other WKU students. Ortiz said watching from South Lawn was convenient and not too crowded.

Ortiz also appreciated all that WKU provided to watch the eclipse, because glasses can be expensive or hard to find.

“It shows that WKU cares about their students,” Ortiz said.

Reporter Rebekah Alvey can be reached at 270-745-6011 and rebekah.alvey660@topper.wku.

Jarred Foster cheered with his friends as a voice announced over the speaker that only seven minutes remained until the total solar eclipse.

Seated on the bleachers in L.T. Smith Stadium, the Hart County High School sophomore said he hadn’t been paying a lot of attention to the first part of the program, which was hosted by WKU for K-12 students who attended schools outside of the path of totality.

But now his face was turned up, and his eyes were fixed firmly on the sun as he stared up at the sky through a solar viewer provided by WKU.

“It’s cool ’cause the moon covers the sun,” Foster said.

Foster said he hasn’t studied the eclipse much in school, and he has never seen an eclipse in real life. His science teacher, though, showed a brief TV clip of a solar eclipse, so he has an idea of what it might look like.

“It’ll be black with a ring around it,” Foster said.

Reporter Emma Collins can be reached at 270-745-6011 or emma.collins399@topper.wku.edu.

Xander Muck is no stranger to the sight of an eclipse, but he’s never seen one quite like the Great American Eclipse.

The seventh grader from Memorial Elementary in Hart County said he saw a lunar eclipse in fifth grade. He said he’s also seen a blood moon, but this will be his first solar eclipse.

“It’ll probably look like night,” Muck said. “Birds and some other animals will go back to their habitats.”

Muck said his social studies teacher saw a solar eclipse. She described the experience to him, so he kind of knows what to expect when the sky goes black.

“It’ll be pretty cool,” Muck said.

But will it be as amazing as the lunar eclipse he saw in fifth grade? Muck said he’ll just have to wait and see.

Reporter Emma Collins can be reached at 270-745-6011 or emma.collins399@topper.wku.edu.

Katie Defevers laughed as she tossed an empty Coke bottle down the bleachers of WKU’s football stadium. Her classmate Camden King looked up just in time to catch it.

Both students wore lanyards with solar eclipse viewing cards and fidgeted with them as they spoke. The viewing cards and lanyards were provided by WKU.

“It’ll be really dark for a second, then it’ll get really bright for a second,” King said describing what he thought the eclipse would like.

Defevers and King, eighth graders from Murphysville, were just two kids in a stadium of hundreds who had travelled to WKU to view the solar eclipse. The event in the L.T. Smith Stadium was open to any school not in the path of totality, according to WKU’s eclipse webpage.

Defevers said her class had been learning about the eclipse for a few days in preparation for their field trip to Bowling Green. She said she didn’t know what the eclipse would like, but she was excited.

But the eclipse, said Defevers, wasn’t the best part of the day. She was just happy to get a break from school.

Reporter Emma Collins can be reached at 270-745-6011 or emma.collins399@topper.wku.edu.

Around 7.4 million people were estimated to travel on Monday to see the eclipse, coming from all over the world toward the path of totality, according to the Great American Eclipse website.

Bowling Green and WKU’s campus is no exception. Visitors from all parts of the county can be found around campus, all hoping for the best view of the eclipse.

Jacob Hopp travelled over 12 hours from St. Paul Park, Minnesota.

“It only happens once in a lifetime,” Hopp said. “I have friends here, and they told me [Bowling Green] was the best place to go.”

Other visitors brought equipment to view the solar event. Gary Little is from Albany, Kentucky and drove almost two hours to WKU.

“I chose Bowling Green because of the amount of students on campus,” Little said.

Carol Singh said the location was “a matter of much debate” with fellow travelers Anette Parks and Joan Parks. Singh is from Bloomington, Indiana, Joan Parks from Akron, Ohio and Anette Parks from Boston.

“It was about the closest spot of totality,” Joan Parks said. “Plus it looked like good weather, so worth the 10-hour drive.”

Anette Parks took a two hour flight from Boston to Indianapolis, then drove an additional four hours.

“In the end, we decided on Bowling Green because of the students here,” Parks said. “This is going to be something we definitely want to say we were able to see.”

Reporter Emily DeLetter can be reached at 270-745-6011 or emily.deletter304@topper.wku.edu.

The solar eclipse on Monday will be a sight of historical significance, and photographers will flock to the crowds of people viewing the eclipse to take pictures of their reactions and the eclipse itself to commemorate the event.

But even if you’re not a professional photographer, there are still ways to capture the beauty of the eclipse. 

Theo Wellington, Eclipse Planning Coordinator and NASA Solar System Ambassador, said mreclipse.com is a good website to visit if you want to learn how to take pictures of the eclipse on August 21.

Wellington said some programs can take photos automatically during the eclipse on cameras and phones.

For Apple computers, Eclipse Maestro allows a Canon or Nikon DSLR camera to take automatic pictures during the eclipse, she said. There is a similar program for PCs called Eclipse Orchestrator.

To take automatic pictures on your smartphone, the app Eclipse Megamovie Mobile will take control of your smartphone and take pictures automatically based on your location, Wellington said. The app can also be used with a DSLR camera.

The app can link you to The Megamovie Project, which is soliciting people’s pictures and videos of the eclipse if you give your permission. The project consists of a group of scientists. The images would then become part of a dataset of eclipse imagery taken nationwide.

WKU Hardin Planetarium director Richard Gelderman recommends videotaping or taking pictures of the refractions of friends and yourself during the eclipse.

“When you want to remember the eclipse, you’re going to want to remember your human reaction to the eclipse,” Gelderman said. “That’s what’s memorable and unique and special to you.”

Jonathan Adams, a visiting professional-in-residence for the School of Journalism and Broadcasting, will be taking pictures of the eclipse at totality in Lebanon, Tennessee for “Boys’ Life Magazine” on Monday, and he will also be taking photos of the Boy Scouts there during the partial eclipse.

Adams said he’s looking forward to capturing the Boy Scouts’ reactions to the eclipse.

“I think the people are going to be as much of an experience as the eclipse,” Adams said.

Adams will operate three or four cameras. He does not have a solar filter for his cameras, which is needed to take photos of the partial eclipse, so he will only be able to photograph the eclipse at totality.

He will shoot a time lapse on a GoPro camera, using the wide-angle lens to get the Boy Scouts in the frame and to see the transition from brightness to darkness and back to brightness.

Adams will use Auto Exposure Bracketing, or AEB, to automatically take five images of the total eclipse, all at different exposures. He said people who use AEB to photograph an eclipse often use Photoshop to bring all the photos together to make one picture.

For those who plan on photographing the eclipse, Adams advises focusing on experiencing the moment, not just taking pictures.

“I think the main thing is don’t get so wrapped up in photographing, please,” he said. “Don’t let that drive you. Make sure you experience it.”

Adams said you can take pictures of the partial eclipse with your phone if you put the lens behind a solar eclipse viewer as you point it to the sun.

Because it is safe to view the eclipse at totality with the naked eye, you do not need a filter to take pictures of the total solar eclipse.

Another Kentucky photographer is excitedly awaiting the eclipse. On Monday, Alex Slitz, a photographer for the Lexington Herald-Leader, will be in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where there will be the greatest point of eclipse in the country.

Slitz attended WKU from 2006 to 2009. He is from Cleveland, Ohio, and he moved to Lexington, Kentucky about four months ago.

Slitz will set up about seven cameras at Orcharddale Shepherd Farm around 6 a.m., including two Canons, a Nikon 360 VR and a couple of GoPros. He also has a solar filter. He will document the eclipse itself and people’s reactions.

“The overwhelming energy of this town is going to be insane,” he said. “You’re going to have [an expected] over 100,000 people come to Hopkinsville, and you’re going to get people who have never seen a small town in Kentucky like this before, and it’s going to be just awesome to be there.”

Slitz will also take photos of the Kelly Little Green Men Days Festival. The festival will be held because of the alleged alien sighting on August 21, 1965 in Kelly, which is just outside of Hopkinsville.

Slitz plans to take pictures at a tattoo shop in Hopkinsville that designed four solar eclipse tattoos as well.

Like Adams, Slitz plans to focus on not only taking pictures, but experiencing the eclipse for himself.

“That’s going to be one of my biggest challenges, I think – just to take it in as it’s happening rather than going back and looking at the photos,” Slitz said.

While many WKU students are prepping for the once in a lifetime opportunity to view a solar eclipse, one Gatton Academy alum is prepping to make history.

Now a freshman at the University of Kentucky, Honor Hare was approached by Richard Gelderman, an astronomy professor at WKU, to be a part of the Citizen CATE, or Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse, while she was a student at Gatton Academy.

The project’s goal is to create a full image of the solar corona throughout the eclipse, which has never been achieved before.

The solar corona is the outermost part of the sun, also known as the bright ring of light surrounding the moon during an eclipse. This is only visible in the path of totality during a solar eclipse, due to the fact that the solar surface’s intense brightness usually overpowers the corona.

With the combination of satellites already in place and the images collected at different sites, the project hopes to gather 90 minutes of footage. Not only will the final product be a beautiful and unique look at a rare event, it will also provide more scientific insight into the solar corona itself.

A record 68 people will be participating, all located in different areas in the path of totality. Most of the participants are ‘citizen scientists’, ranging from astronomers to professors to even middle schoolers.

Through the generosity of 15 sponsors, each of the participants will be given, and be able to keep all of the equipment used for the project. This further continues Citizen CATE’s mission to give ordinary people the means to do extraordinary things through science.

In order to test the project on a smaller scale, Hare first traveled to the different islands of Indonesia with a group in March of 2016. This experience showed Hare not only a small glimpse of what’s to come with the Citizen CATE Project, but also an eclipse from a different cultural perspective.

“Everyone wanted to meet us,” Hare said, as she described the excited local atmosphere.

Banners hung in every town that read, ‘Gerhana Matahari Total,’ Indonesian for ‘Total Solar Eclipse’. Universities had full days dedicated to the event, much like WKU’s plans to celebrate with the community and locals gathered for a chance to try on Hare’s solar eclipse glasses as the event approached.

Despite the anticipation surrounding the eclipse she witnessed in Indonesia, Hare feels that the main difference between Bowling Green’s event is that WKU students actually have a better opportunity to witness the event.

While in Indonesia, the group gathered images from only 5 sites and found the project to be a success, making the anticipation for an “unheard of” 68 sites even greater.

Although they did witness the same phenomenon in Indonesia, Hare explains that no two solar eclipses are exactly the same. The sun is constantly changing, and with each eclipse there are variations in solar flares, the solar corona and other factors.

“We are looking at the same things … but it’s going to be so totally cool and different,” she says.

Hare will be stationed at Adairville Elementary School where she will witness the same images that captivated her in Indonesia right here in Kentucky.

The solar corona can also be witnessed in Bowling Green, south of the Corvette Museum, at approx. 1:27 p.m. for only 48 seconds.