"A Tito eclipse of the sun" - Tito Salas - Ep. 3
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It's being dubbed The Great American eclipse. And so who better to talk to about this than one of our own experts on cosmic phenomena: Tito Salas. Tito has been at the Fiske planetarium here on campus since 1990 -- almost three decades. He grew up in Venezuela and then came to CU and has been here ever since. So we talked about the eclipse coming up and his plans for it, and also his background -- his story. How did he get here and what made him stay.
On CUE Podcast Transcript
"A Tito eclipse of the sun" - Tito Salas - Ep. 3
Announcer:
And now from the University of Colorado in Boulder the College of Engineering and Applied Science presents: On Cue. Here's your host, Phil Larson.
Phil Larson:
In just a few days there’s going to be quite the cosmic event here in the United States. It's being dubbed The Great American eclipse. And so, who better to talk to about this than one of our own experts on cosmic phenomena: Tito Salas. Tito has been at the Fiske planetarium here on campus since 1990 -- almost three decades. He grew up in Venezuela and then came here to CU and has been here ever since. So, we talked about the eclipse coming up, his plans for it, some tips and tricks and we also talked about his background his story. How did he get here and what made him stay so, I hope you enjoy it.
So, we're sitting in one of the coolest if not the coolest facility on campus – Fiske Planetarium. Thank you, Tito for coming On Cue.
Tito Salas:
You are most welcome.
Larson:
So, Tito Salas, works at the Fiske Planetarium, you’ve done it for how long?
Salas:
Since 1990 I started here as a student and then a full-time position opened up and they offered me the job. And since then, 1990, it’s been just a dream job.
So, 27 years pretty much. You started as a student, now helping run the joint.
Salas:
Yes.
Larson:
And Tito is a nickname. Francisco Salas. but really how do you say your full name.
Salas:
So, my full name is Francisco Jose Salas Ramirez Alamedas Trejo
Larson:
So, Tito?
Salas:
Tito would be better.
Larson:
So obviously wanted to get together to talk about you know a big national global solar system size event with the eclipse coming up August 21st. Before we get into that. You know the awesomeness happening in a few weeks. Did you know one of the talk about your background you know how did you get interested in looking up and how did you get interested in creating an environment where people could look up in the middle of the day, at any time.
Salas:
Yes, I actually remember that exact time, I was about 11 years old and my mom and my dad they gave me 50 bolivars, which was the currency in Venezuela.
So, I just have some fun buy something, and I bought a telescope and the first object that I pointed the telescope at was the planet Saturn and I saw the rings for the first time with my own eyes. And since then has been just being hooked into astronomy.
Larson:
How old were you then?
Salas:
11 years old.
Larson:
And that was your moment?
Salas:
That was the moment. After that I remember taking classes in the planetarium in Caracas, Venezuela. I was the youngest student. I was only like 12, 13 years old. But, every single night just going to the planetarium and mingle with the with the others with the others interested in astronomy.
Larson:
What do you think about what is it about planetariums that is so unique and from all ages people walk in from all backgrounds from all interests not just space.
Salas:
Yeah.
Larson:
And their reaction is palpable every time.
Salas:
Yeah, I think nowadays mainly the big number of the population they are losing that connection with night sky. City lights light pollution cell phones they're always looking down. They are missing what is going on around them when they come here they rediscover this beauty that's been lost for so many years especially in such a nice place where the night sky looks fairly close to what the real sky is. And one of the one of the best comments, the best feedback that we get is when we get K-12 students here. And we turned the lights on we showed the stars and all the kids go “Whoaaa” and that to me and I know to every member that works at Fiske is just our moment. That is the moment when we know for sure, yes, we are doing the right thing. We are in the right place.
Larson:
And these days planetariums aren’t, you know, your mom and dad’s planetarium which used to be slide projectors and directed light and mirrors.
Salas:
That is great. In fact, I was lucky to see the transition from the older style into the new digital systems. I remember in Fiske we used to run over 300 special effects projectors among those other 100 slide projectors and boy it was tricky to run every night in any of those shows because one slide gets stuck and then you run around then you fix it the another one just gets stuck. So, it was a little bit of a nightmare, it was kind of fun. But I remember the time in 2012 doing the annular eclipse that we did an event in here. I think that event we did so well and CU and Fiske and CU names just came into our life into the public. They finally say, “yeah Fiske you are ready for the big improvement” and it was the was the right the right moment the right choice especially we want to compete nowadays with all the multimedia stuff the kids nowadays have access. So, it’s not the regular planetarium that we both used to live with. Now we see the planetarium more as an immersive theatre so any digital data we can project it here, so it's not just astronomy. We can see geology, plate tectonics. We can see molecules, DNA, outer space engineering they use these facilities they test some of their equipment, students, with Megastar, to see how accurate the star position is. So, it’s quite a tool and we are just so lucky here in Boulder to have such a state of the art machine
Larson:
But we do, I think, you and I share an affinity for some of the old technologies. Pinpoint stars so you know working with the slide projectors to make you know to try and do what we can do now with the push of a button. But then a little more analog.
Salas:
Yeah. Yes. And that is a good point. In fact, that's one thing that we do different and very well compared to other planetariums. So, we have full dome shows. They usually last half an hour. But what we do is after the show is done we do a live talk about the show and 9 out of 10 times the public, they say that their favorite part of the show was not the full dome show but the interaction between them and our navigators and presenters and that is the connection from the old style you get to grab a laser pointer and show the night sky the way that's supposed to be done. All celestial mechanics all the constellations all stars and people really when they come to the planetarium they want to see that. We were wondering well with all the new technology, they just want to see the full dome maybe 3-D stuff. Yes, but that they still have that connection within very deep in their hearts. They still want to experience the night sky how it should be in the outside world.
Larson:
And they also want to see laser shows too.
Salas:
Absolutely! Especially for Pink Floyd. Our best laser show ever.
Larson:
That’s absolutely accurate. So, you've been here 26 years. Grew up in Venezuela. What was the path from Venezuela to CU?
Salas:
It was a was a tricky one. When I came to this country in 1981. I came here with a scholarship from the Venezuelan government to study.
Larson:
But as we know the Venezuelan government had a scholarship program to come to CU…
Salas:
To universities around the world.
Larson:
Around the world
Salas:
Yes. But then that program got cut off after two years. So, I had the choice either to go back to my homeland or just stay here and see what I can make of it. And he was the it was the right choice. So, I went to CSU for two years and then came to CU in a degree in environmental conservation and physical geography and a minors in astronomy and geology but I always kept working in my dream job here at the planetarium. I started classes at CU, I saw the planetarium and said that’s the place I wanna work. I'm still here and every day is like a brand-new day.
Larson:
So, great. So, turning to the eclipse you mentioned a couple of years ago there was an annular eclipse.
Salas:
Yeah 2012.
Larson:
We did an event here 2012. Now eclipses, they do happen around the globe fairly regularly. That's correct. Why is this one the Great American Eclipse. Why is this one so special.
Salas:
Yeah and the reason is this one in particular it goes across the entire United States. So, the last time that this happened was about a hundred years ago and this time millions of people will have the chance to see the total solar eclipse. But most of the US will see some portion of the eclipse some percentage.
Larson:
So, what is an annular eclipse?
Salas:
An annular eclipse… as we know the moon goes around the earth sometimes it's not a perfect circle. So sometimes it gets closer sometimes it gets farther. An annular eclipse is when the moon is at the farthest from the earth. So, when it goes in front of the sun it doesn't cover the entire circumference of the sun. So, you see like a ring around it. So, the last one was in 2012 and we hit we had a big event at Folsom Field, like 10,000 people at the same time were watching this the annular solar eclipse.
Larson:
That didn’t go across the United States.
Salas:
No no no. This one is will go all the way.
Larson:
And it's total. So it covers the entire sun.
Salas:
Yeah, it's going to last for about two minutes. So… which is a short period of time but believe me it's going to be amazing. I had the chance to see the one in 2006. That one lasted over six minutes. So again, the time of duration of the eclipse is depending how far or how close the moon is to earth at the moment of totality.
Larson:
The 2006 one was here? Or was somewhere else?
Salas:
That was, we saw it on a ship on the Mediterranean
Larson:
You had to go to it.
Salas:
Yes. Yeah. And it actually was a trip put together by our director Doug Duncan. So, I was in charge of the kid’s program and the time of the eclipse it was just totally amazing.
Larson:
So, it seems like what I'm hearing is the part of the uniqueness of this one is just where it is. These things happen but it's over you know kind of perfectly over the United States and pretty much everyone will be able to see something. Whether you go to the you know if you go to the map you see the path of totality. Sure, that's where you, you know, would get night time out for a little bit right?
Salas:
That's correct. We're going to go to Jackson Hole in Wyoming.
Larson:
But even if you didn't, if you stay here in Boulder or you'll still see...
Salas:
Yeah. From Boulder, you would see almost 93 percent.
Larson:
So, it'll get dark.
Salas:
Yeah actually it will get dark. Even with one percent of the light coming from the sun still quite a bit of light. So, if you don’t know what is happening and you’re not expecting something probably you wouldn't even see any difference. Only when you know, 1 percent so the light will look a little bit weird but still a lot of light. In order in order to see darkness you have to be in that magic path of 70 miles or so. Once you are in there that's when you see totality. So, darker on the top of the night sky of the sky but light in the horizon because you're looking outside the shadow. Of the of the moon projected onto the Earth. So, you gonna see blue around you in the horizon and then gradually turning darker darker darker all the way to the sea level.
Larson:
So, this one it's kind of like the Harley Davidson of Eclipse's.
Salas:
Absolutely.
Larson:
Maybe that 2012 one was like a scooter. But…
Salas:
Yeah yeah the 2012 was a, yeah was like a Vespa this is a Harley.
Larson:
And what's great is you know it's you know the last total solar eclipse. Correct me if I'm wrong was total solar eclipse across the United States. It was maybe late 70s.
Salas:
Yes, so about the one that went across the entire United States I believe it was a hundred years ago. The last one in some part of the United States was in 1979. Yes. And there is a... So, I hope that you will see the eclipse but if you miss it there is another one in August 12th, 2045. And we are lucky here in Colorado because it’s going to go right across Colorado Springs. So it is going to go through MOAB, Delicate Arch, Aspen and exiting towards the towards the East border of Colorado. So, 28 years from now. So that's the next one in this area. In the United States: 2024 from Texas all the way to Maine.
Larson:
That's the south to north one, right?
Salas:
Yes. Yea it starts in the northern region of Mexico, crosses Texas and then it exits toward Maine.
Larson:
So, is that a total?
Salas:
Yes. That's a total eclipse.
Larson:
So obviously, a lot changed in the world from the last total of solar eclipse across the United States. So now social media like it's going to be a national event not just 10000 people at Folsom is awesome. But this is really going to I think capture the public's imagination. Sharing photos sharing you know things on social media. What do you think it is? And just think back to like before that before you know before we had digital communications or photography even if we were just sitting here one day and suddenly, the sun was blocked out we didn't know what was going on. Like what is it? Solar eclipses have this great lineage of human history and you know goofy things going on. Could you talk about that a little bit?
Salas:
Yes. In fact I was lucky to have that type of experience back in 2006. So again it was one of the longest. It was over six minutes. And our director he was talking to us, to the group and said you know so take the time to look around because it is amazing how people react to these events and I took the time and I saw people crying laughing talking like mumbling things. So it's like “oh wow. What is what is going on?” And that's when you try to travel back in time and try to put yourself in the shoes of these groups that were seeing this happen. So remember for these groups the sun was the source of energy our life and seen something that’s trying to cover, devour or eating the sun at that moment. It was big news for them. So that's when you understand some of the things that they were doing to get back the sun. So yes, it is a big event for the social media and people taking pictures take the time take some pictures. But nothing beats looking at the solar eclipse the whole totality with you own eyes. That is a moment that will be impregnated in your brain in your memory for a lifetime.
Larson:
One might hope. Maybe this is too sappy but you know it's an it really does this type of global events cosmic events do have an impact on people as you just said and I've witnessed and this one being so perfectly covering you know the continental United States visible from pretty much anywhere even outside of totality. One might hope it has a conjoining effect on its viewers helping us realize a little bit of our place how small we are compared to the universe but how outsized of an impact we can have together. One can hope.
Salas:
Yes absolutely. In fact, in these days where there is so much divisions in our country this is one of those things that we can look forward to having something in common not just only people and totality everybody in the U.S. imagine a few years from now there might be a topic of conversation. “Did you watch the eclipse?” “Yes!” That's how the story goes.
Larson:
“Where were you?”
Salas:
What were you what were you doing. Did you look at the chickens going into the coup? Those animals do kinda weird things. But yes, that would be yet one more common theme. That we came at two people leaving young country in a positive event and we're reminding people to keep looking up in the sky.
Larson:
Alright let’s do a lightning round of eclipse questions.
QUESTION: Is it safe to just look up in the sky with your naked eye and stare at the eclipse?
Salas:
Only at the moment of totality. Yes.
Larson:
So, if you're not in that 70-mile path that's going across the United States it’s not safe?
Salas:
Not safe, in fact if you are outside that magic path of totality you must, don't take a chance, you must… did I say must? You must use certified solar eclipse glasses these are these glasses they can block. I mean they are about a hundred thousand times darker you’re your regular sun glasses. So, make sure that it’s the right one. I know that there's many fake ones. I know there are people because of the significance of the event they're just selling stuff but make sure they are all certified.
Larson:
Never miss an opportunity to make a buck.
Salas:
I know make a buck. Yea but don't play with your eyes because once it’s gone its gone.
Larson:
I do think our bookstore is selling some.
Salas:
That's correct.
Larson:
And you still sanction those yeah?
Salas:
Yeah. Yeah. Those are fine. We also sell those here and they're selling very fast. So, we probably run out of those early next week.
Larson:
OK. Do you need a telescope or binoculars to experience this?
Salas:
You know I personally don't. I like to see these event with my own eyes. How our ancestors saw it. And you know I they will be great pictures. They would be great telescopes. Movies on the web. You can see those…
Larson:
After?
Salas:
After that. Make sure to take some time to look at this event with your own eyes because nothing beats… and I forgot! One of the things we are going to try to do is to actually if you have a camera high enough you can actually maybe capture the shadow going over the mountains which is in fact we have a student here. He was… I used to teach a kid’s class program and I taught the student when he was about 6 years old. Now he's going into the outer space engineering PHD program. And he tested a rig, a GoPro camera rig with a balloon. He was a successful launch so we tested it so we're try to capture that trip of the shadow of the moon on the surface of the Earth over the mountains.
Larson:
How quickly will it be traversing? Will it be… you know how fast will that shadow be moving?
Salas:
It moves pretty fast. So, the actually eclipse will go into from Oregon all the way to South Carolina. I think the whole process is going to take maybe a couple hours or so.
Larson:
And it's west to east?
Salas:
Starts in Oregon exits in South Carolina.
Larson:
What if. OK so what if you get all your plans together you go somewhere in the path of totality magic path and it's cloudy what should you do?
Salas:
Well so our plan for this trip that we're going to do we're going to look at the weather forecast on that Sunday night and then make a decision on that morning Monday morning really early see if we can get on the bus and travel to maybe four hours if that is possible. We're going to do that.
Larson:
So, find an open patch of sky?
Salas:
Yes. Now if for some reason, you are camping and you don’t have a way. Enjoy that moment of darkness right in the middle of the day. You say “Wow. What is going on.” And then suddenly the whole thing just comes dark. Maybe having some bears or something. You're going to for a quick hibernation. Who knows.
Larson:
OK last one. This question comes from care of the Internet. You know August 21st. For some it's for many it's the first day of school. Is there a way we can move the eclipse to the weekend?
Salas:
Yeah, we tried. We tried to do it. Not for this time but maybe for the next one we might have might be able to do something. And actually we were lucky here at CU that the classes are starting the week after. Not by design. It just happened to be the how the schedule worked.
Larson:
Tito you're in charge of moving the sun and the next solar eclipse so the next one doesn’t fall on a Monday.
Salas:
And we can always do total eclipses is here in the planetarium. So, if you miss it somewhere just come over here and we can show a solar eclipse as many times as you want.
Larson:
Well thank you man. This was awesome. Tito Silas Thanks for doing in on short notice.
Salas:
You are most welcome.
Announcer:
This has been OnCue, for more information visit Colorado.edu/engineering