An astrophysicist with ties to MIT, one of the largest telescopes in the world and Inland, Nebraska will be speaking in Hastings this weekend.

Astrophysicist Megan Donahue will share her insights at the Hastings Museum both Saturday and Sunday in anticipation of Mondays total solar eclipse.

I knew the eclipse was going over the farm I grew up on and I thought, Wouldnt it be cool to go back home to see the eclipse? Its going to be one of the better places to see the eclipse, Donahue said in a recent phone interview.

Donahue grew up on a farm near Inland and graduated from Hastings St. Cecilias High School in 1981. She earned a physics degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985 and earned her doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1990.

I had no clue about what it meant to be a physicist or a scientist, Donahue said going back to her youth. I was really interested in the topic of physics. I was really excited about science fiction and science.

Donahue grew up in the days of the Star Trek and the space program and while she didnt have any direct scientific role models as a child, she found them at MIT.

Donahue said she came to her specialty in astrophysics after realizing how much time and energy she would put into the study of that area.

It was the one thing that would capture my attention and I would lose track of time. That was a sign, she said.

Donahue spent some time as a Carnegie fellow in Pasadena, California, at the Carnegie Observatory. That was back when they were still operating the 200-inch Hale telescope, which at the time was one of the largest in the world.

That was a prestigious thing to have, especially back then, she said.

Donahue was there for three years before going to Baltimore where she worked for several years. Since 2003, she has served as a professor in the physics and astronomy department at Michigan State University.

While she no longer has family ties in this area, Donahue thought coming back to Nebraska for the eclipse would be a great opportunity.

She said there are certainly places out west that might have clearer skies that day but the time to drive from place to place in those mountainous areas might be more of a challenge.

I thought at least in Nebraska I would have free range to go east or west a couple hours if I needed to. I also I thought this would be a good place to stage out of, she said of Hastings. Im crossing my fingers it will be a great place to hang out and watch it.

While in the area, Donahue will be speaking three times at the Hastings Museum:

At 10 a.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, Donahue will be speaking about the solar eclipse in Black Hole Sun: Views from the Dark Side of the Moon.

She will use NASA images and animations to give a basic overview of solar eclipses and their distinct stages.

I have some pretty good animation of why we have eclipses and how often we have them and where is there going to be the next one cause youre going to want to know, Donahue said. You see this one youre going to want to see another one. That is for sure.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, Donahue will also give the talk Galaxies Galore! which will delve deeper into her research and work at Michigan State including her work with the Hubble Space Telescope.

When it comes to the solar eclipse, Donahue has a bit of advice for all gazers.

During that two minutes of the full eclipse, Donahue said people will see colors that she can hardly name and that can only really be captured with the human eye. Thats why she said to leave the camera down.

Ive always been told for your first eclipse just look at it. Just watch it, she said. Let the pros take the pictures because you have to set the exposure time and getting the dynamic ring is tough but your eyes will immediately get it.

Link:

Astrophysicist to speak at museum - Hastings Tribune