Online course will be offered by the University of Louisville to study the upcoming total solar eclipse

Anyone who is interested in learning about solar eclipses ahead of the upcoming total solar eclipse is in luck: the University of Louisville's Department of Physics and Astronomy is offering a class that is available to anyone of school age or older.

According to an article on the University of Louisville’s website, Gerard Williger, who is a professor of Astronomy and Physics, will be teaching the class, and said of the unique opportunity, “This will be so close to us in Louisville. Those who experience a total solar eclipse will remember it forever. It’s completely different from a partial eclipse: The temperature drops, birds go quiet, the wind dies down and a few bright stars and planets become visible.”

The total solar eclipse will happen on April 8, 2024. While in Louisville the eclipse will not be seen in its entirety, it will still be a historic, once in a lifetime experience for anyone who has the chance to see it. The next time another total solar eclipse happens and will be visible in the area is October 17, 2153. 

In order to get the most out of the historic event, Williger is offering this class not only to current University of Louisville students, but to anyone who is interested. As long as one is of the age to participate in school, they are welcome to take the course. Young children are encouraged to have an adult help them through the course material. The course is called Special Topics: The Great North American Eclipse of 2024, and those who take it will learn all about the solar system, exoplanets, the Great American Eclipse of 2017, how to take photos of an eclipse, future eclipses, and eclipses as seen in art, movies, and folklore.

“The course is unusual in that it does not fulfill a degree requirement, but rather is a free elective, like a golf or tennis class. The goal is to inform people about this once-in-a-lifetime eclipse, and is not meant to take much time,” said Williger. 

It will be a one-credit course available online and is self-paced with pre-recorded lectures. There are quizzes throughout the course, though students can try an unlimited number of times and there is no monitoring. The course runs from January 8 until April 15. 

For information about the cost of taking this special online class, visit the course’s webpage.

For more information about the University of Louisville, visit the school’s website.