filed in What Gets Me Through the Day
Eclipse Day
In L.A, we only got a 69% eclipse. But it was still awesome. The peak happened in the middle of ballet class, and we went outside and passed around the one set of special eyeglasses that someone brought. My favorite part was the unusualness of our standing in the parking lot, wearing leotards and ballet slippers (except for the pianist in street clothes) and all looking up. How did you spend Eclipse Day?
Photo from Folly Beach, SC
(this one’s for you, Lisa)
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We were in the path of totality (Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina). It was amazing. I’ve never seen such a beautiful color blue when the sun peeked from behind the moon. People sat on their front porches (like in the movie, Dolores Claiborne) throughout the neighborhood and then stepped out into their yard as the sky darkened. People cheered and fireworks went off during the moment of totality. Truly awesome.
So envious of your Totality experience, but also so happy for you.
I live very close to Taliesin and had a similar experience. Went to a party at a friend’s house. Heard bugs start chirping and fireworks during totality. I thought it would be like sunset/sunrise but it was different and not like anything I’ve ever seen. There were some clouds but they weren’t in front of the sun when the main event occurred so we had a clear view. I loved it and am so glad I got to experience totality.
Can you say more about how it wasn’t like sunset/sunrise, and not like anything you’ve seen.
It didn’t get gradually darker then lighter over a long period like sunset and sunrise. Incredible how even when the sun is more than half covered, it still felt like a normal sunny day. For about 2 minutes before totality it felt like the sunlight looks when wearing sunglasses, then right when the sun was fully covered it felt like someone flipped a light switch. Was not pitch black because of the ring of light. Like when the moon is out. Then the same in reverse.
I’m surprised some people didn’t have glasses. I guess because I was in the totality path and it was a huge promotion for my town everyone had glasses and then some. I’m going to keep at least one pair.
Thanks for the detailed description. How incredible!
Thanks for the photo! Both my sister and cousin saw the eclipse in totality. They were so lucky. It was fairly cloudy where I was but did get to see it. I was with a couple of others who didn’t have glasses so we shared mine. Keeping mine in order to give to artronomerswithoutborders.org who will be collecting them to give to South American kids for the 2019 eclipse. So maybe a kid there will gave better weather than I did.
Pay it forward. Nice!
In the 91% path, so not totality, but still pretty awesome. My university had an official viewing party attended by between 1500-2000 people. But I was at an unofficial one–next to the building in which I work. It was wonderful! I had a solar viewer but my colleague and a couple of my students didn’t, so we all shared and kept passing them around. Very much a spirit of community–some thing positive that brought us all together. The weather was mostly cloudy, but there were enough breaks in the clouds to see the eclipse throughout its various stages. The sense of togetherness was palpable.
And I let my class out early so they could watch it. I wasn’t the only one!
Kind of like a snow day. But better.
I loved the community part of it. What a nice, celestial break from the national madness.