“A total solar eclipse is not something that you see — it’s something that you experience.” - Astrophysicist and eclipse chaser Ryan Milligan describing what it’s like to experience an eclipse in the New York Times.
“Keep your face to the sun, and you will never see the shadows.” - Helen Keller
“Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” - Confucius
The stars have aligned over our city. As the Wall Street Journal noted last Friday (The New Center of the World is Cleveland.), “For four days, Cleveland is the center of the universe.”
We were home this past weekend to the women’s NCAA Final Four and this afternoon we will be one of the few prime spots on Earth to view the total solar eclipse. Soon after the eclipse ends, our Cleveland Guardians will host the home opener. University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark described Cleveland as awesome and posted on X: “CLEVELAND!!!!!!!!!!”
But how is this relevant to our law school? It’s very relevant - because unlike any other law school in the nation - we actually teach that the sky is no longer the limit!
If Cleveland is the center of the universe, then at the center of the center is the CSU|LAW Global Space Law Center (GSLC), the first of its kind at any law school in the nation! The Center, founded and directed by internationally-known Professor Mark Sundahl (yes, that’s his name!), offers an Online Course on Space Law, Certificate in Space Law, Online Space Law Research Guide, a student Space Law Society, a student-staffed Research Council, and a student-authored STARLAW Blog. Watch this Global Space Law Video and see our GSLC Instagram page. Please join us this Friday, April 12, for our 2024 Global Space Law Center Symposium.
In the meantime, at 3:13 pm today, Cleveland will be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse. The moon will block out the sun for nearly four minutes – one of the longest durations of any major city in the path of totality. During totality, it will likely become dark enough for streetlights to come on and some stars to be visible. The last time a total solar eclipse darkened anywhere in Ohio was in 1806 and it won’t happen again in Cleveland until 2444.
- Eclipse starts: 1:59 p.m. EDT
- Totality begins: 3:13 p.m. EDT
- Maximum totality: 3:15 p.m. EDT
- Totality ends: 3:17 p.m. EDT
- Eclipse ends: 4:28 p.m. EDT
Courtesy of our student Space Law Society Executive Board: You can view a mock of the Moon’s journey to Cleveland here!
Space Law Society E-Board
- President: Justin Daniels-Dawes
- Vice President: Abby McCoy
- Secretary: Caylan Fazio
- Treasurer: Steven "Ricky" Williams
Below are some great websites about Cleveland’s total eclipse, and the Wall Street Journal article is reprinted below.
https://artsandsciences.csuohio.edu/physics/total-solar-eclipse
https://www.cmnh.org/solar-eclipse-2024
https://www.cmnh.org/visit/solar-eclipse-2024/solar-eclipse-animations
https://greatscience.com/explore/events-programs/total-eclipse-fest-2024
https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/parks/education/education-programs/2024-solar-eclipse
The New Center of the World is Cleveland. Locals Say It’s About Time.
Two massive events, one on the courts and the other in the sky, are converging on the city; just don’t call it a ‘bigger Des Moines’
Wall Street Journal
April 5, 2024
For four days, Cleveland is the center of the universe. At least it feels that way in Cleveland. “I see dollar signs, dollar signs, dollar signs everywhere,” says Mayor Justin Bibb, gleeful over hitting the tourism jackpot. “This is our moment to shine.”
Talk about cosmic kismet: The women’s NCAA Final Four runs through Sunday in Cleveland. On Monday, the city will be a prime spot to view the total solar eclipse. “It’s crazy that all this stuff is happening at once,” says resident Ian Meadows, who works for Downtown Cleveland, an organization promoting the city center.
Destination Cleveland expects the Final Four-solar eclipse convergence will draw more than 200,000 visitors to the county, which has a little more than a million residents. The NCAA tournament alone could bring in more than $25 million of revenue, it says. Good luck trying to get there if you haven’t already planned your trip. Some domestic flights are going for more than $1,000 round-trip. Hotels are sold out, and locals have rushed to list their homes on Airbnb
A one-bedroom apartment downtown is listed at $9,500 a night. Cleveland-area native Gia Polo, general manager of the Kimpton Schofield Hotel downtown, says all 128 rooms are booked this weekend at roughly double the price from a year ago. A listing titled “Eclipse House Big Ol’ Loft” offered a furniture-less room for $50 a night. “Bring your own sleeping bag or whatever,” the description said. The room got booked for the weekend. Crews have been hard at work beautifying Cleveland’s streets and sidewalks for the weekend’s festivities.
Cleveland jokes? They’ve heard them.
The city hasn’t always enjoyed the rosiest reputation. It has been called “mistake on the lake.” The Cuyahoga River, which runs through town, caught fire in 1969, spawning pop songs and a national outcry over the environment. Even Clevelanders poke fun at their city. Comedian Mike Polk Jr.—whose decade-old tourism videos featured such taglines as “at least we’re not Detroit”—says Cleveland is a lot different than it was in 2009. “It is funny sometimes to look at those videos now. It just doesn’t even look the same,” he says of downtown Cleveland. “I like when people are pleasantly surprised when they come here.”
After basketball star Caitlin Clark led the University of Iowa to victory over LSU to clinch the Hawkeyes’ spot in the national semifinal, she posted on X: “CLEVELAND!!!!!!!!!!” “Not since Liz Lemon have we seen a talented and famous woman this excited to go to Cleveland,” said local librarian Terry Metter, referencing Tina Fey’s character on the TV series “30 Rock.”
Out-of-town sports commentators looking for an easy jab at Cleveland on air might think twice. During the Iowa-LSU game in Albany, ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo quipped, “Good luck finding something to do in Albany.” One Albany bar owner called for a boycott of the network. The mayor offered Lobo a personal tour.
‘It’s been awesome’
Cleveland sits in the swath of the U.S. where eclipse views will be the best, because the moon will completely block out the sun. The last total solar eclipse visible in Ohio was in 1806. The next one won’t be until 2099.
Cleveland’s twin attractions could be the biggest tourism event since the 2016 trifecta: The city hosted the Republican National Convention, the World Series and the NBA finals—won by the Cleveland Cavaliers when the team still had LeBron James.“It is amazing the amount of attention that is on women’s basketball now,” says Robert Dorr, the director of sales, events and marketing at Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade, which is also sold out this weekend.
The feelings are mutual. Caitlin Clark, who had never been to Cleveland, told a news conference that “it’s been awesome. “She added the city felt like a larger version of Des Moines. That prompted some locals to suggest a new city slogan: “Cleveland: a bigger Des Moines.“
Ticket holders at the Cleveland Guardians home opener will get a twofer on Monday. Fans will be able to see the eclipse from the stadium. She would like travelers to fall in love with Cleveland, just as she did when she landed in the city a decade ago. “I hope that people visit and they stay,” she says.
Have a suntastic day.
The views and opinions expressed in my Monday Morning Message are solely my own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the law school or the university.
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