‘TOTALITY: The Great Arkansas Eclipse’ premiers tonight on PBS

Documentary looks back at celestial event

By Andy Robertson

Arkansas PBS

CONWAY. — Arkansas-IDEAS and Arkansas PBS will present the new one-hour documentary “TOTALITY: The Great Arkansas Eclipse,” with highlights of its live, statewide eclipse coverage, Thursday, June 27, at 7 p.m. and live streaming at myarpbs. org/live and in the PBS app.

In honor of this historic event, ArkansasIDEAS weaves together the unique stories of Arkansas astronomers, highlights the science behind eclipses and shares the importance of eclipse safety. The documentary features interviews with scientists from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Arkansas Tech University Observatory, as well as high school astronomer Mekenzie Racy of Nettleton, Arkansas.

“Arkansas PBS was honored to share this global, almost once-in-a-lifetime celestial event with Arkansans,” Arkansas PBS Education Director Sajni Kumpuris said.

“Our front-row seat along the path of totality across four Arkansas communities was a special moment for everyone.”

During the eclipse on April 8, 2024, Arkansas PBS production teams were positioned in De Queen, Russellville, Jonesboro and on Petit Jean Mountain to track the eclipse arc across the state and provide insights from esteemed national and local physics and astronomy experts, as well as reactions from community members and visitors to the state.

This new special looks back on stories of Arkansas astronomers and NASA scientists, highlights this event’s impact on the state, and shares eclipse footage from De Queen, Russellville, Conway and Jonesboro – allowing viewers to relive this once-ina- lifetime event.

According to NASA, a total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun.

The Great North American Eclipse of 2024 – a monumental celestial event more than 100 years in the making – spanned a complete arc across Arkansas.

A full-length professional development course will be released by ArkansasIDEAS this summer and will be aligned with relevant Arkansas K-12 science and Arkansas history standards.

Photo by Don Wilburn