Solar science shines through partial eclipse in Aurora for Fox Hollow students

AURORA | Considering Jolly Ranchers, solar-powered twinkle lights and more, the Balloon Launch Club at Fox Hollow Elementary School hypothesized how the solar eclipse would affect science experiments on their annual balloon launch. 

A large white balloon — about 5-feet in diameter at lift-off — carried a carefully crafted triangular frame, where the science experiments and GoPros were placed, tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere. It’s an annual event that STEM teacher Jennifer Sevy said students look forward to every year. This year, it coincided with the partial solar eclipse in Aurora. 

Students questioned if the solar eclipse would affect different solar-powered objects. Alexa Stone, a fifth-grade student in the club, explained that a little figurine will wave the flag when the sunlight hits its head. They want to test if it will still wave the flag during the eclipse. 

Other questions posed by club members include: Will the eclipse trigger the sensor on the fairy lights? Will the color of Jolly Ranchers change when they’re sent to near space? Will an empty water bottle collapse when it’s in low air pressure? 

“It’s cool to see a balloon go up into space and know that I helped set it up,” Stone said. 

The balloon was launched at 11:45 a.m. Monday morning. It was estimated to have landed south of Fort Morgan, approximately 90 miles away from the school. A few hours later, Sevy made her way through a cornfield to retrieve the balloon and the experiments. 

While the club launched their balloon, hundreds of Fox Hollow Elementary Schools students watched from the basketball court outside as the balloon sailed away. 

They also witnessed the solar eclipse with the special solar-eclipse glasses the school provided. Students excitedly looked up as the moon partially covered the sun.

“I barely remember the last eclipse given that I was in kindergarten,” said fifth-grade student and club member Roshan Chandran. “So to see it and remember it would be great.” 

Fox Hollow students were alone in looking for answers about the effect of an eclipse.

“This may be the most viewed astronomical event in history,” said National Air and Space Museum curator Teasel Muir-Harmony, standing outside the museum in Washingon, awaiting a partial eclipse.

Experts from NASA and scores of universities were posted along the route of total eclipse, poised to launch research rockets and weather balloons, and conduct experiments. The International Space Station’s seven astronauts also were on the lookout, 270 miles up, according to an Associated Press story.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the next total solar eclipse will be on Aug. 12, 2026. It will be visible from Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and some areas of Portugal.