‘Empress of eclipse’ ready for celestial show
She was 5 when she first dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
Reruns of “Star Trek” episodes fascinated her, but NASA’S Apollo space program inspired her to dream big and study physics.
For today’s total eclipse, Angela Speck, a renowned professor and chair of physics and astronomy at the University of Texas at San Antonio, plans to wear a special red disco ball cowboy hat with reflective tiles.
She’ll share stories with family and fellow eclipse watchers about how different cultures viewed the phenomenon in past centuries.
Western Asia thought a dragon was eating the sun. Vikings believed two wolves swallowed the sunlight. The Cherokee saw a giant frog trying to devour the glowing star at the heart of the solar system.
Speck is among several elite scientists across the nation educating the public about one of nature’s miraculous wonders.
“There’s quite a few of us,” she said. “It’s nice to be recognized for having put in a lot of effort.”
Celestial tattoos adorn Speck’s arms and shoulders. Her most recent ink depicts multiple stages of an eclipse unfolding along her forearm. Her profile @Stardustspeck on X, formerly Twitter, describes her as a “Tattooed witchy astrolator” and “empress of the eclipse.”
Speck grew up in Yorkshire, England, a place she compares to the industrial and rural areas of Pennsylvania. She’s named after Black political activist Angela Davis. In the 1970s, Speck’s parents were among the protesters who called for the activist’s release from jail.
She majored in astrophysics at Queen Mary University of London and received a bachelor’s degree. Her research on molecules and dust around evolved stars at University College London resulted in her achieving a PH.D. in astronomy.
The astrophysicist hosts local educational events for children and adults and has worked to empower students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses. Speck’s focus is studying stardust — a substance ejected from dying stars. Researching the composition of space materials could critically impact climate change in the future.
Speck shares her knowledge and passion for eclipses through appearances, including a TEDX Talk, television segments, newspaper articles and op-ed essays. She’s a co-chair of the American Astronomical Society Solar Eclipse Task Force and a member of the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy. Speck worked with the NASA Heliophysics Science Division to share details about an eclipse.
Her specialized study is reflected in her unconventional sense of style. She likes bright colors, with her hair dyed in different hues. It’s a trait Speck said she inherited from her mother and developed during time spent at punk band shows in her native England.
Speck loves the extraterrestrial moments of a solar eclipse.
“I find it frankly entrancing,” Speck said.
And she’s excited that Texans have a chance to see a once-in-alifetime event — when the moon blots out the sun. The moon will cast a 115-mile-wide shadow, a path of totality stretching from Mexico through Texas, upper Eastern states and Canada.
Everyone should witness an eclipse once in their lives, she said. The next total solar eclipse that will be visible in the contiguous United States will be in 2044.
Speck encouraged people to buy the correct glasses to view the sun safely. Approved glasses should have the logo “IPO” printed inside along with the numbers “12312-2.”
The shadow is longer if spectators are in the middle of the path. The San Antonio International Airport is right on the edge. The 1604 UTSA campus will see 2 minutes of twilight. Speck said people downtown, outside of the zone, will not see any darkness.
Witnessing her first shadowing of the sun wasn’t so easy.
A total eclipse in the United Kingdom took place in 1999 after Speck had moved to the United States. She missed the one that took place in 2001. A year later, she arrived at the University of Missouri and built the astronomy program from scratch. In 2017, she was finally in place when a total eclipse rolled through the campus.
“It’s the fact that you see sunset colors all the way around the horizon,” Speck said. “That’s the thing that people don’t expect.”
Birds will go silent. The air will cool. In the last minute, stars and planets will appear before total darkness. Then, a wispy, white halo will glow around the hole in the sky.
On the Planet UTSA podcast, Speck told host John Elizondo that an estimated million people are expected to visit San Antonio and the Hill Country. She said local residents are right where they need to be.
With protective glasses on the right side of town, Speck said, “You may just need to step outside and look up.”