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NASA solar space ambassador to speak at March rock club meeting

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To enhance our visual understanding of the April 8 eclipse, the Spring River Gem & Mineral Club (SRGMC) will host a solar presentation by Dr. David Thomas at 10 a.m. March 1 at Thunderbird Center, 62 N. Lakeshore Road in Cherokee Village, Ark.

What is so special about the coming total solar eclipse? How is it different from the 2017 solar eclipse? 

Dr. Thomas will answer those questions and more in “Eclipses: The Amazing Mechanics of Solar and Lunar Eclipses and How to View Them.” He is affiliated with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a volunteer solar space ambassador and as such also works to communicate the science and excitement of NASA space exploration missions and discoveries, as well impart knowledge about solar/lunar events. Thomas relates, “I was almost 3 years old when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, and I’ve been interested in space exploration ever since.”

Currently, Thomas is the W.D. Bryan Professor of Biology at Lyons College. He earned his degrees in Washington state, Alaska and Idaho. Broadly educated in biology and other sciences, he has worked in industry, government and education. Among his experiences, he worked at a research company in Oregon that developed the life support systems for the International Space Station, also at summer programs at NASA’s Ames and Kennedy Space Centers. He actively pursues research on extreme environments as analogues for life off Earth.

The Spring River Gem & Mineral Club consistently has speakers who are experts in their fields. Programs are Power Point presentations. Meetings are held at 10 a.m., on the first Friday of each month, excepting June picnic and December Christmas party. It is the largest, as well as the only educational club in the area. Members are mostly retirees who are interested and enjoy learning more about the world we live in. Members are “Down to Earth” people from all walks of life. Programs are on varied subjects: Native Americans, minerals, fossils, archeology and geology.

The meeting is free and open to the public.



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