by Jim Boyle
Editor
When it comes to celestial matters, Bjorn Franke, of Zimmerman, has learned to trust his gut.
The 2021 graduate of Zimmerman High School is not regretting a 640-mile drive he and his girlfriend Sam Mueller took to be in Indiana’s Lieber State Park on the afternoon of Monday, April 8 for “The Great American Total Solar Eclipse.” Sure, the thought of driving 10 hours only to have cloudy skies foil their plans crossed their minds.
But they pushed aside those fears and escaped the overcast skies that settled over Minnesota for a chance to be in the path of totality. The solar event seemingly carved a path of clear skies for American travelers from far and wide to make their way cross country to share in the moment. The total solar eclipse took a diagonal path across America, starting along Mexico’s Pacific coast and headed for Texas and 14 states, including Maine.
The eclipse was caused by a syzygy — the alignment of three celestial objects, which in this case was the sun, the earth and the moon.
“I think early on, it was tough because it was a 10-hour drive, and we didn’t really know if it was going to be worth it,” Franke said. “Is it going to be cloudy? Will we be able to find a good spot? It was so cool to see all the planning come to fruition.”
The two watched in gleeful excitement as the world around them changed as the sun slipped behind the moon. Once halfway there, the temperature dropped quickly and noticeably. And by the time it was about 90% covered, the skies darkened.
“And when it finally happened, the moment of totality, I have to say I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” Franke said. “You could look at the sun pretty much... and see the ring the fire (the corona) around it, and see some planets like Jupiter and Venus in the middle of the day. It was pretty dark. I mean I’ve seen a lot of cool stuff too but this is definitely one of the cooler things I’ve seen in my life. It was phenomenal.”
Franke, 21, said he became a “space nerd” growing less than two miles from the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. The separation from city life and night lights provides a pitch black canvas for the stars to come out at night in the wildlife refuge.
“I would drag my dad along in the middle of the night to help me take photos,” Franke said. “And after a while I just kind of did my own thing. I would drive around the state to find dark skies up in places like Mille Lacs and outside of Duluth to capture things like the northern lights and the Milky Way.”
He was only 17 the last time an eclipse happened. He wasn’t much of a photographer yet, but he had a telescope and wanted to see it.
“I remember I tried to go and see it, but it was rainy or something,” Franke said. “I remember it ended up being kind of a dud.”
But in April of last year, the northern lights were predicted to be stunning, if weather cooperated on one school night for the University of Minnesota student. He and his brother decided to take a road trip after realizing the forested areas of the Zimmerman area were under cloud cover. They found clear skies in Red Wing. “We just figured, ‘Let’s take a shot,’ and it turned out to be great,” Franke said.
The total solar eclipse on Monday, however, tops that experience.
“I would say it was unreal,” he said. “I mean, from the experience of driving down here and then kind of setting up. And when you first started the eclipse it was just kind of cool. After all the planning and research on where to go, the equipment I needed, where to stay, how to get out of there, just so we could, you know, not be in traffic. It is so cool to see all come to fruition.
Franke has pulled Mueller into his interest of astronomy, and he didn’t exactly drag her on this trip. She wasn’t very interested in astronomy when she met him and they became friends. Once they started dating, she knew he had a passion for astronomy and it was important to him.
“He really enjoys it, so I’ve always been open to the things he’s suggested,” she said. “Every time I have tagged along with him, I’ve never regretted it. It’s always really cool. And it’s stuff that, like, I never thought I’d see before coming to college.”
Mueller, 20, is from Virginia. She’s studying sociology of law and criminology at the U of M. She would like someday to work in federal law enforcement to address human trafficking. Her mom works in that field and has been a big influence.
Franke has been a big influence, too.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect with the eclipse,” she said. “I knew it was going to get dark, but I didn’t realize it was going to get dark that quickly. As soon as the sun was covered, it was completely dark. That was really cool. I wasn’t really expecting that. It definitely surpassed my expectations.”
Immediately after it was over, she was on her phone with her mom to tell her how cool it was.
“It’s fun watching Bjorn do this stuff, because he gets so excited about it,” she said.
Franke said it was incredible to see the sun’s corona behind the moon. He took photos of the eclipse for about a minute, wanting to stay in the moment as much as he could, while still capturing a good shot. He shot the one on the cover of this newspaper with the following specs for those who are into photography and astronomy: 1/200, f/5.6, ISO 320, 400mm.
Franke doesn’t study astronomy at college but seeing an eclipse was on his bucket list and he knows there will not be another one for another 20 years in the United States.
Franke works at the University of Minnesota as a sports photographer in the athletic program, covering football and hockey. He’s majoring in entrepreneurial management in the university’s business school. After college he would love to work for a Division 1 program or a professional sports team and he also has aspirations of starting his own photography business. He will graduate in the fall.
When it comes to astronomy, he will continue to follow his gut.
“I was a little skeptical of going all the way to Indiana, but I’m glad we did it. You won’t ever regret doing stuff like this. There’s some long days driving, but 20-30 years from now, you’re going look back and be really happy you did it.”
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