The Daily Bulletin

Over the last week, I hope you have shared eclipse experiences with others. Whether you had great views of the entire eclipse, saw portions through breaks in the clouds, or didn’t see the Sun at all because of the cloud cover, as long as you were in the path of totality, you experienced the darkness of the Moon’s shadow as it passed over you at over 2,300 miles per hour. Don’t let the enormousness of that be lost! Remember that in Western New York, the path of totality was only about 110 miles wide. The last total solar eclipse in this area was in 1925, and the next isn’t until 2144.

We all experienced the result of this incredible dance between Earth, Moon, and Sun together. It’s estimated that this solar eclipse was the most viewed astronomical event in history. Whether people experienced a partial eclipse or the total eclipse, whether they were alone or in large gatherings, or whether they had clear skies or were entirely overcast, for a few hours on April 8, hundreds of millions of people across North America were able to experience the total solar eclipse of 2024. With so many things that divide us, it is worth remembering that events like this bring us together. In that context, I believe this eclipse is even more incredible than the amazing views of the partial phases and the beautiful corona during totality. It is a cosmic event with a heavy dose of humanity.

The eclipse has also brought many of us on campus together as we planned several events leading up to Eclipse Fest! Brainstorming and logistical planning among departments across campus led to amazing activities and great exposure of Buffalo State to the community. There are too many people to thank individually, but my co-chair for the campus Eclipse Task Force, Bernadette Matre, was instrumental and invaluable in all aspects of making everything a success. Additionally, Jen Connelly, the planetarium's associate director, went far above and beyond organizing the observing area for Eclipse Fest and other volunteers and as we welcomed roughly 4,000 fourth- through 12th-grade students and over 1,100 members of the public to campus to learn about eclipses in the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium.

I also need to thank Interim President Bonnie Durand, Brent Ford, Steve Cahoon, Kristen Mruk, Kaylene Waite, Brian Kantz, Geoff Nason, Liz Grady, Kristin Fields, Katie Welsted, and Carolyn Morris-Hunt for helping to plan various parts of our Eclipse & Sips and Eclipse Fest events. Of course, thanks are also owed to many others from offices across campus including the Geosciences Department, the Master Teachers Program, Rockwell Hall Box Office, Facilities, Central Receiving, Events Management, Custodial, UPD, the Deans’ Offices, the Vice Presidents’ Offices, the President’s Office, and others. I’d also like to thank Colleen Callahan, Chris Parana, Nancy Paschke and others for making Totality Tuesdays possible. Thank you all for helping to make the Year of the Eclipse a great success!

For information about Buffalo State’s eclipse events, please visit the Buffalo State Eclipse website. Questions? Email eclipse@buffalostate.edu.