The eclipse, which will be visible across the continental United States, is the first eclipse of this kind in 38 years and takes place on Aug. 21. Jackson said he is expecting thousands of visitors to Idaho. “With the path of totality passing directly across our state, Idaho will be a destination for eclipse-chasers from around the world”.
As part of the outreach effort, Boise State has teamed up with local libraries, astronomy clubs and science museums all over the state so that viewers can be informed of what they’re seeing when they see the solar eclipse and how to safely watch it. With these partners, Boise State will host public presentations about the eclipse and provide eclipse shades for safe viewing. Jackson will help organize and lead these efforts.
Before coming to Boise State, Jackson was a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington, D.C., and before that at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He earned his Ph.D. in planetary science from the University of Arizona‘s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, and his bachelor of science in physics from Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
Jackson also has his own website, astrojack.com, where you can find information about his teaching, public outreach, research, extracurricular activities and press. In addition, Jackson is currently running a PonyUp campaign to support an educational tour across the Gem State for the 2017 eclipse.