By: Cara Jackson

On April 8, 2024 a total solar eclipse happened in North America. The path of the eclipse went from Mexico, through the United States, and Canada. The states it traveled through were Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, as well as small parts of Michigan and Tennessee. (NASA, 2024)

The most recent total solar eclipse that was in the United States before this one took place in 2017, seven years ago. 

A solar eclipse happens when the moon goes exactly between the sun and earth. This means that the sun is in the moon’s shadow, causing it to become dark outside. There are four different types of solar eclipses; total solar eclipses, annular solar eclipses, partial solar eclipses, and hybrid solar eclipses. (Royal Museums Greenwich)

A solar eclipse is a large event since it’s such a rare sighting, so many people went to go see the solar eclipse. A lot of people traveled a little bit to see the eclipse in totality. 

One person who saw the solar eclipse was Brown Freshman, Mirabell Johnson. She saw the previous eclipse in 2017, when she was in third grade, so this was not her first time seeing an eclipse. 

Johnson went to Indiana to see the eclipse in totality with her parents and siblings. Johnson’s dad set up a telescope, so her family got a closer view of it. 

She said she had a good experience viewing it, and she could see the whole thing without it being blocked by any clouds. For her, the most exciting part of the eclipse was when it got really dark. She stated, “It was like nighttime, but it was during the day.” She said that she would rate her experience viewing the eclipse as a ten out of ten, and stated that there was nothing she disliked about it. 

Another person who viewed the eclipse was Brown School teacher, Andrew Gray. He had seen the eclipse in 2017, as well, so this was also not his first time seeing an eclipse. He didn’t decide until the morning of the eclipse whether or not he would go to see it, because he wanted to see what the weather would be like beforehand. He ended up going to Lake Monroe to see it. He said it was chaotic getting there, especially since their travel plans were very last minute. 

Gray and his family were originally going to see the eclipse at the top of the hill, where the lake was, but his son found a quiet place by the stream where they ended up going instead. He enjoyed being in that area, and stated, “The experience was great, because we were next to water the whole time, so it was an amazing experience. The birds started chirping and getting really loud before totality, and then right as it got dark everything got quiet. The only thing you could hear was the water.” He said that, because they were in a valley, the eclipse was even darker than he remembered the one in 2017 being. 

Gray said it was a fun experience, and he enjoyed seeing it with his family. “It was really peaceful. I remember the colors were beautiful, I think that was my favorite part. Watching the sun rise as it started to end.” One of the first noticeable things for him when it got dark was that he could see Venus, even before it got to totality. Gray thought it was cool to see the planets and stars during the daytime, since usually you only see the plants when there is a dark sky. 

He said the most exciting part about the eclipse was just being there, and having the weather cooperate, because you only have one or a couple shots in your lifetime to see something like this.

By: Ben Clevenger

It's no secret that Thunder over Louisville is a big event. With it being one of America's biggest fireworks shows, it's obvious that people go crazy to see this event in person, which can lead to massive crowds forming to see it.

Fireworks are not the only thing presented at Thunder over Louisville, as there's also a jet show and drone show to witness before fireworks kick off. In fact, if you're in downtown Louisville on the days leading up to the event, you may hear some of the fighter jets flying around for practice.

The show is insanely spectacular, drawing in 600,000 spectators easily just to watch the event, with new and old coming to witness this event, as it’s always a beautiful show to see live.

Now, how much needs to go right for Thunder to even happen? First of all, the fireworks need to operate correctly. This seems easy, but last year, fireworks malfunctioned and went off a few minutes later unexpectedly. There's also the issue of weather ruining the event, which can be easier to maneuver around.

The fact that so much can go wrong during an event like this really shows how much Thunder over Louisville matters and the undying love for it

Essentially, the conditions need to be perfect for Thunder over Louisville to run as normal. If it's too windy, the jets may struggle to do maneuvers, and if it's raining, the fireworks and drones might have issues. It's a miracle we can have this event in the first place with how precise things need to be.

During my time in the control room from prior experiences and as of this year, I first off learned how they decide the Thundernator, also known as the person who launches the fireworks. Essentially, they are chosen by playing the Kentucky lotteries pick 3 and Kentucky 5 games, then a fan club account must be made. After that happens, someone is decided to be the Thundernator.

Some other stuff I learned includes how the setup looks from behind the cameras, and why they have the control room where it is. Essentially, the control room has a balcony that looks directly at the fireworks and it's really high up too, giving them the best seats possible to view the event.

Some smaller stuff also occurred during the fireworks display, as the waterfall came back after its 6 year hiatus. The main 2 reasons for the waterfall's disappearance in the first place was due to the smoke it produced and that smoke blocking the other fireworks, stated by a Derby festival spokesperson as the reasons. However, now it's returned to a surprise to everyone that's hopefully here to stay.