Children stare in awe into telescopes, jaws hanging as they marvel at the moon’s beauty. Parents and students galore peruse through lines of trifolds rich in information about various planets and galactic activities. Palpable energy fills the space.

The yearly Moon Party has commenced.

Organized by Honors Astronomy teacher Angela Barnes, Wednesday’s celebration centered around this moon in honor of the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8. This year’s celebration occurs after a break last year due to the ice storm.

“It’s celebrating all the knowledge that my students have accumulated thus far and what they want to share,” Barnes said. “I learned so much from my students and if I’m learning from them, I want them to also share what they love and know with the rest of the district. Hopefully, people will walk away from tonight with a bunch of knowledge about the night sky that they didn’t have before.”

Astronomy students showcased presentations on many space topics, the fruition of a two-month passion project. From in-depth guides on viewing eclipses safely to comparing the habitability of Venus and Mars, each station stood fortified with ample space tidbits and zealous presenters.

“It felt really cool because we got to really use our knowledge to show other people what we have learned this year,” senior Audrey Broussard said. “It’s a really great way to connect back to the community and give back to little kids who want to learn about astronomy and space. It was really fun getting to see everyone and participate in this.”

At the front of the school, a Meade Newtonian reflector telescope and two smaller telescopes gave viewers a glance at the moon and Jupiter. The line of eager astrophiles never seemed to wane down.

“We were working and researching how to use it and trying to fix the balancing during class for the last couple of weeks,” said Arunesh Eswaran, a sophomore astronomy student manning the Meade telescope station. “It feels really good that all the work has paid off and it’s able to actually work. There’s so much of our community here. It’s a lot of fun and I am glad to be able to do it with my team.”

In the gaggle of telescope helpers was AP Statistics teacher Dr. Lowell Johnson, a resident astronomy buff.

“This is just such a great opportunity for me to really just share my love of astronomy with a bunch of kids here,” Dr. Johnson said. “I want the kids to realize that astronomy is just one area but there are things you can learn about science and physics by studying space and the stars. There is so much to learn and if I can keep people interested by looking at things, all the better.”

The class prepares to teach Town Center Elementary School’s fourth graders about the solar system and Barnes plans to host another event with the entire school for the April solar eclipse.

“I have big plans to have my students be ambassadors for the high school to allow us to go out and watch the entire eclipse or at least the totality part safely,” Barnes said.

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