A third of the sun was covered by the moon on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks to the autumn vacations, Eindhoven children could see the phenomenon through a large telescope, at the monumental Philips Observatorium (observatory).
At the observatory it is busy, there are many children with their parents. All are waiting their turn to look through the gigantic telescope aimed at the sun. After glancing through, most go back outside for the climax. At noon, most of the sun is covered.
Interesting
“My mother read from a book about planets and stars”, a young child says. “Then it was about the solar eclipse. I asked what that was, and when my mom went to look it up, we saw that a solar eclipse was coming, so we went to watch. I think it’s very beautiful to see, that bites go out of the sun like that”.
Stars and planets he finds interesting, and his mother only likes that. “I used to really enjoy all this too, but never actually did anything with it”, she explains. “But now that he’s so enthusiastic, we can explore it together”.
Passion
The volunteers who work at the observatory still enjoy it, too. A partial solar eclipse is a little less special than a full one. But seeing children excited about their passion is something they love to see.
“For many children it is the first time they see it. And of course it is special that a bite of the sun goes out each time”, volunteer Wim Houben says. Ferdi Mathijssen himself fell in love with the universe when he was young. “Some kids just enjoy seeing it once. Others keep asking and asking and asking. There is nothing more beautiful than a child who keeps asking questions”.
Missed the solar eclipse? You can see the next one in 2025.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
