UT Department of Physics and Astronomy Archives

Paul Lewis

By Lola Alapo/University of Tennessee

T minus 18 days. On Monday, August 21, a total solar eclipseâ€”when the disk of the moon completely covers the sunâ€”will be visible in the United States along a path from central Oregon through Tennessee and on to South Carolina.

In Tennessee, many points to the south and southwest of Knoxville will experience a total eclipse. Knoxville, however, will have only a 99.75 percent partial eclipse.

UT experts are providing tips on how East Tennesseans can view the eclipse safely and protect their eyes, wherever theyâ€™re viewing. You can click on any of the links below to learn more.

The university will host aÂ Solar Sun Day from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 6, on the roof of the Nielsen Physics Building. The event is free and open to the public. Participants will observe the sun through telescopes and will learn about the August 21 total eclipse and how to build devices for viewing the sun indirectly. They also will see an eclipse simulation in UTâ€™s planetarium and receive a free pair of solar glasses. [Read more…]

Tony Mezzacappa

Tony Mezzacappa, a leader in the field of astrophysics and supernova science, has been named director of the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Mezzacappa is a world leader in computational astrophysics and a pioneer in the field of supernova science. He is a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and group leader for theoretical physics in the Physics Division at ORNL.

He is also a joint professor in the UT Department of Physics and Astronomy. With this new position, Mezzacappa will become the department’s Newton W. and Wilma C. Thomas Endowed Chair in Theoretical and Computational Astrophysics.

[Read more…]

Eclipse 2017: What you need to know about safety

New leader named to UT-ORNL Supercomputer Center