Little Falls Community Middle School teacher Rachael Cota has witnessed the awe-inspiring sight of a total solar eclipse not once, but twice. Cota, who teaches eighth and sixth grade science, first saw totality during the total solar eclipse that crossed the United States on Aug. 21, 2017. She was so moved by the experience that she made plans to see the next one on April 8, 2024.
Cota traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to view totality as the moon’s shadow passed directly over the city. She described the experience as “incredible” and “difficult to explain.” During the few minutes of total darkness, Cota said she was able to look around at the thousands of other spectators and see the wonder in their eyes as the moon completely blocked out the sun’s light.
“Many of us have seen a partial eclipse,” Cota said. “Watching the moon cover the sun is a cool experience, but there’s something way above and beyond that happens during totality, when you can take your glasses off and just see the moon in front of the sun with the white corona all around it and the stars in the sky in the middle of the day. The crickets start chirping and the frogs start singing. And then when the moon moves away, the birds start singing. All of the animals behave as they naturally do during dawn and dusk.”
Back at Little Falls Middle School, Cota worked to ensure all students could experience the eclipse safely. With funding from the parent committee, she was able to obtain 600 pairs of eclipse glasses so the entire school community – students, teachers, staff and custodians – could view the partial phases. For those with cloudy skies, other teachers set up a NASA live stream in classrooms.
As an experienced eclipse chaser, Cota aims to see as many total solar eclipses as possible during her lifetime. The next one visible from the United States will occur on March 30, 2033 over northwestern Alaska, followed by one on Aug. 23, 2044 that will cross northeastern Montana at sunset. Cota hopes to witness the latter of these events and potentially reach a total of three eclipses seen.
Only the youngest residents of Minnesota are likely to get to see a total solar eclipse in their home state, as the next one will cross over the area on Sept. 14, 2099. The last total eclipse to hit Minnesota came 70 years ago, on June 30, 1954, making the gap between total eclipses in the state 154 years long.
Cota’s passion for astronomy and the night sky is evident in her science classroom. In addition to covering topics like physics and chemistry, she teaches units on Earth science and the solar system. Her goal is to instill in students the same sense of wonder about our place in the universe that she feels each time totality occurs.
Most Popular
Comments / 0