ROCHELLE –– Once a summer, American’s can be found across the country with their eyes on the sky as they view fireworks on the Fourth of July. While the man made display serves up many ‘ohhhh’s and ‘aahhhhh’s, Mother Nature is looking to present her own spectacular shows in August.

The first display will be the Perseid meteor shower on Aug. 12. The annual meteor shower will peak in Mid-August as brilliant meteors radiate from the Perseus constellation and appear throughout the sky.
To help local residents view the meteor shower, Northern Illinois University STEM Outreach will host an evening STEM Café at the Rochelle Municipal Airport on Aug. 12 from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. During the free event attendees will be able to view the meteor shower, weather pending, and hear from experts about hot astrophysics topics.
“The peak night for the Perseid Meteor Shower is Saturday, August 12,” says STEM Café coordinator Judith Dymond. “If the weather holds up it should be great viewing. Otherwise, we have three terrific speakers, so we will have the event rain or shine.”
Dymond addded viewers can expect to see as many as 200 meteors per hour. NIU will have telescopes on sight for viewing of the galaxy, certain stars and the meteor shower.
This will be the sixth year NIU STEM hosts the stargazing event and the first year the event will be in Rochelle.
With three speakers covering a variety of topics, there is a session sure to delight stargazers of all ages.
STEM Educator Jeremy Benson will discuss “The Sky Tonight: What’s Visible and What Causes a Meteor Shower?” He’ll set up telescopes for night viewing and let guests know what they can expect to see.
Paul Stoddard, Associate Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, will prepare the audience for the solar eclipse that will occur later in August with his talk, “Why Are Scientists So Excited about the Solar Eclipse?” He’ll explain why eclipses occur and describe what to look for during the August 21 eclipse.
NASA Solar System Ambassador Joel Knapper will discuss NASA’s Future Missions. “How would you like to travel to a vast ocean world under an ice covered moon?” he asks. “How about a visit to the metal core of a planet?  Of course you could also rove along mars, collecting samples to bring back to Earth.” 

While these may sound like science fiction, they actually represent some of the exciting missions NASA will be launching in the next few years.
The event is free and open to the public but will include a meal option. A $15 all-inclusive build your own burger and cash bar will be available for purchase. A kids’ chicken tender meal, for ages 12 and under, will be available
for $8. The burger bar will include juicy beef burger, veggie burgers, or chicken breast with fresh tomatoes, red onions, crisp lettuce, assorted cheeses, dill pickle spears, pasta salad and house-made potato chips.

See ECLIPSE on page 5
“We are just delighted to be in Rochelle and the people at Rochelle Municipal Airport and Flight Deck were delightful to work with,” stated Dymond.
Dymond added, “We are anticipating a large crowd. People love stargazing and we are happy to have this.
This event is part of NIU STEM Outreach’s series of monthly STEM Cafés, which are free and open to the public. The STEM Café series is just one of the many engaging events STEM Outreach hosts to increase public awareness of the critical role that STEM fields play in our everyday lives.
Solar Eclipse
The sky will go dark in Southern Illinois on Monday, Aug. 21 as the moon moves between the earth and the sun in the middle of the day. A total solar eclipse occurs every 12 to 18 months, according to NASA however this is the first time the path will cross the continental United States from coast to coast. The total solar eclipse will go through 10 states: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. 
While Carbondale will be able to see a total solar eclipse, Rochelle and every other city in North America will be able to view a partial solar eclipse.

NASA anticipates the total solar eclipse to last longest near Carbondale where the sun will be completely blocked for about 2 minutes and 40 seconds. While Rochelle will not have total eclipse of the sun, a partial eclipse will last
The solar eclipse is expected to Peak in Rochelle at 1:17 p.m. when the moon obscures 88.3 percent of the sun. The partial eclipse will begin around 11:50 a.m. in Rochelle and end around 2:40 p.m. as the moon passes the sun.
Safety
NASA does not encourage anyone to view the eclipse without proper eye protection. It is never safe to directly look at the sun, except for those in the path of totality and only then when the sun is completely blocked.
Lowe’s, Menards, Walmart and Casey’s General Store will be seliing ISO- compliant safe eclipse glasses and/or handheld viewers in some of their stores.
For those without specialty glasses, NASA has 2D and 3D printed pinhole projections on the eclipse 2017 website for safe viewing.
Illinois Department of Transportation is expecting up to 200,000 people to visit Northern Illinois on Monday, Aug. 21.
“The Illinois Department of Transportation is proud to be one of several state agencies teaming up to make sure that Illinois is prepared to host this historic occasion,” Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn said. “We also need the public to do its part. By following a few basic guidelines, the eclipse can be safe and exciting for everyone.”  
Eclipse viewers are encouraged to plan ahead and find a place to park and not view the eclipse from the side of the road. IDOT also encourages travelers to not wear special viewing glasses or take pictures of the eclipse while driving. Motorists are encouraged to turn on their car headlights while driving during the eclipse.