Talk to focus on upcoming solar eclipse

For about four minutes on Monday, April 8, the sun, moon and Earth will be perfectly aligned in the eastern United States for a total solar eclipse, an event that will not happen in the United States again until 2045. 

To help people enjoy the phenomenon, pastor Peter Detterline of St. Peter United Church of Christ (UCC) will present a talk titled "Chasing Shadows" on Sunday, March 17, at noon. The program will educate participants on what they will be able to see locally on April 8 and how to safely view the eclipse.

Detterline explained that only those in the path of totality, which is when the moon completely covers the sun, can look directly at the sky. "In this program, I will talk about people who will not be in the path of totality," he said. "They will need eye protection to look at the sun directly. There are lot of neat tricks that people can use."

Detterline, an amateur astronomer, has seen a total of seven eclipses throughout the world, including Australia, Hawaii, China, England and Zambia, Africa. "I love to travel, so if there is an eclipse there, it is an added bonus," he said.

Detterline stated that solar eclipses are fascinating celestial events that have captured the imagination of people all over the world for centuries. "It is amazing and beautiful. It really is phenomenal," he shared. "If you are in the path of totality, there is a ring of light on the horizon, like an orange sunset. It gets 10 degrees colder all of a sudden, and the sky turns a metal blue color, which looks unreal. The last tiny bit of sunlight (disappears) and the sky turns dark. Everything goes black (for a few seconds), and all of a sudden, the (sun's) corona pops out."

Detterline, who has built his own backyard observatory at his home in Douglassville, has an enthusiasm for astronomy and for teaching. He served as director of the Boyertown Planetarium for 35 years, where he gave programs to more than a half million people. He is a recipient of the Thomas Brennan Award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for exceptional achievement related to teaching high school astronomy. He teaches an astronomy course at Montgomery County Community College and a class for teachers through the Montana Learning Center.

He is the observatory director for the Mars Society, where he heads up an astronomy team providing a solar and a robotic telescope for the society members at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. "(The telescope) is used by the crew astronomer at the habitat, as well as by school students - all done remotely from their home computers," he noted.

Detterline explained he always wanted to become a pastor like his father, Milton, who served at St. Peter UCC from 1972 until he passed away in 2010. The social hall at the church is named Detterline Hall in his memory.

"After I retired from the planetarium, I became a commissioned minister in 1997, which is like a substitute teacher, filling in for people who were on vacation or out sick," he explained. "I filled in at St. Peter and then became a lay minister."

Detterline sees a connection between serving in ministry and astronomy. "The more I look at the heavens, the closer I feel to God and His handiwork," he stated.

St. Peter UCC is located at 1920 Ridge Road (Route 23), Knauertown. GPS users should use Pottstown. The "Chasing Shadows" program is suitable for people of all ages. For more details, email pdetterline@gmail.com.