In advance of the rare total solar eclipse coming on Monday, April 8, Northern Arizona University astronomer and “eclipse chaser” Cristina Thomas is available for comment.
Thomas can share insights on:
- How solar eclipses work
- When and where this eclipse will occur
- What to keep in mind when traveling to watch the eclipse
- How to safely view the eclipse
- Why this eclipse is a rare, exciting astronomical event
About Cristina Thomas
Named a “rising star” by Astronomy Magazine in 2023 and an Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education in 2022, Thomas is an assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University. As lead of the observations working group on NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Investigation Team, Thomas and her colleagues made history by crashing into an asteroid by design, taking the first step toward a possible future planetary defense strategy. At NAU, she teaches courses in Indigenous astronomy, the solar system and more, and in her free time she often “chases” solar eclipses around the United States. Thomas has a B.S. from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Selected News Clips
DART: The impacts of slamming a spacecraft into an asteroid
NPR | Dec. 9, 2022
NASA smashes into an asteroid, completing a mission to save a future day
New York Times | Sept. 26, 2022
NASA’s unprecedented asteroid-deflection mission is more than ‘billiards in space,’ scientists say
Science | Sept. 12, 2022
Rising star in astronomy: Cristina Thomas
Astronomy Magazine | Jan. 18, 2023
Contact:
Jill Kimball
jill.kimball@nau.edu
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