Palencia is already buzzing with excitement about the eclipse. With the opening talk given yesterday by IAC Director Valentín Martínez Pillet at the Teatro Principal—in which he gave the large audience a preview of the spectacular nature and significance of what they will see in the sky tomorrow—the program of educational events has officially kicked off. These events will take place at various locations throughout the capital, as well as in other towns across the province. Meanwhile, on the streets, you can sense the growing excitement among the many visitors arriving so as not to miss such an exceptional occasion.
Parque del Salón de Isabel II, Teatro Principal and Plaza Mayor
This Tuesday, astronomy takes center stage on the streets of Palencia. Starting at 10 a.m., at the Parque del Salón de Isabel II, volunteers from the IAC will offer science workshops for the whole family, with a special focus on workshops dedicated to safe solar observation.
A little later, at 12 p.m., the program in English (with simultaneous translation) will take place at the Teatro Principal, featuring presentations by NSO solar physicist Kevin Reardon, who will speak on “Chasing Shadows: 150 Years of Scientists Pursuing Discoveries During Eclipses”; and Lindsay House from the University of Chicago, who will highlight the importance of citizen science in her talk “Harnessing Machine Learning and Citizen Science: How You Can Help Create a Map of the Universe to Help Uncover the Mystery of Dark Energy!”
Finally, at 9:00 p.m., the Plaza Mayor will host a series of talks with a more lighthearted focus. First, Jose Carlos del Toro Iniesta, from the IAA-CSIC, will speak on “The Sun from Space.” Meanwhile, Irene Puerto, from the IAC, will offer a lighthearted look at astrology in a talk titled “Today I’ll Draw Up Your Birth Chart”; and Pablo Redondo, also from the IAC, will speak on “Astrophysics and Instrumentation: A Friendship with Benefits.”
Frómista, Carrión de los Condes, Osorno la Mayor and Villalcázar de Sirga
Activities will also continue this Tuesday in various towns throughout the province of Palencia. Following the talk given last Saturday by the deputy director of the IAC Eva Villaver at the Church of Santa María de Frómista—on how our perception of eclipses has changed over time—at 7:30 p.m. today it will be the turn, at the same location, of the former director of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, Juan Carlos Pérez Arencibia, who will recount his experience in a talk titled “The Island That Looks Toward Infinity.” Earlier that morning, at 10:00 a.m., Alejandra Goded (IAC) and Jorge Pérez Gallego (NATE) will lead the Summer School Workshop at the Casa de Cultura.
Meanwhile, in Carrión de los Condes, following yesterday’s (Monday) lecture by Jorge Pérez Gallego at the Sarabia Theater on the intersection of science and humanism in eclipses, the CEIP Marqués de Santillana will host the Summer School Workshop led by Alejandra Goded and Jorge Pérez Gallego at 12 p.m.
In Osorno la Mayor, at 12 p.m. at the Cultural Center, Pablo Redondo will give a second presentation on astronomy and stargazing. Finally, at the Villalcázar de Sirga library, Gaia Lacedelli (IAC) will speak—also at 12 p.m.—on “Exoplanets: On the Path to Habitable Worlds.”
Full program here.
