In what has been dubbed by the media as the “Great North American Eclipse,” Earth’s moon passed in front of our sun for roughly four minutes today in some parts of Canada, Mexico, and the United States — darkening the skies in its path and providing America with the first eclipse of its kind in nearly a decade.
Because of the necessary alignments of celestial positions, total eclipses are rare. Only two have been visible in the United States in this century. The first was in 2017. There will not be another until 2044.
When a total eclipse does occur, it is because the visible diameter of the moon “appears” larger than the sun, much like a tennis ball near your eyes may “appear” larger than the light of a flashlight it “covers up” further away.
This phenomenon also effects only those people standing where the straight line of the two objects would have that shadow cast over them, creating “bands” of the effect — essentially a path temporarily put in shadow.
By a sheer stroke of luck this reporter happens to live in Dallas, Texas, directly in the path of the “Great North American Eclipse,” and can convey his first-hand experience witnessing the event this afternoon, April 8, from approximately 1:41-1:45 PM CST.
Although there was cloud cover, my suburban home is in an area with an unobstructed view to the sky. Inside, the home went very dark — equivalent to after sunset. No light at all came in through the windows. If you imagine the unusual feel of a scene in a science-fiction movie, you would be correct. Walking outside, the sky was still blue but a deeper tone.
In accordance with safety guidelines, I did not look at the sun. I watched the event using my phone screen as I filmed and photographed.
At normal home-to-sky distance (and through a medium level of clouds) there was at first no noticeable difference. Then a small black dot began to appear in the center of the sun. As I zoomed in, I was able to see the dot was much larger than it first appeared, and the shape of the sun around it changed and danced — it’s outer ring (called the “corona” – the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere) becoming sometimes thicker or thinner on one side or the other.
I could hear massive cheering of crowds gathered from a nearby neighborhood park about two blocks from the house. An announcer on a PA system explained the events as it went on.
I also noticed the change to the status quo of nature’s appearance had upset the local wildlife. Birds were flying in erratic patterns and squawking at each other. Dogs were barking throughout the neighborhood, including my own inside the house.
To my left, neighbors who had just moved in to the rental house were outside also filming, sometimes commenting, sometimes silent and awestruck at sheer magnitude of it all. We all had the sense of being connected by the event, and there was a universal feeling of wanting to soak up every second of what we were feeling, knowing in minutes it would be over.
At times, the clouds added drama to the scene, diffusing the light and bouncing it around in much more of a display than I previously imagined. Outer rings of orange and yellow surrounded the white light of the center. Although much had been made of the potentially lesser experience we would have in Dallas because of the clouds, instead I felt very fortunate to be having a this unique experience others may not.
As the moon continued to pass, there was an unexpected image for a few moments — the clouds parted, reducing the diffusion effect of the coronas, and we could see a crisp outline of the moon with a thin, solid ring of white light around it.
The phenomenon only lasted a few seconds. But it will forever be my favorite memory of the eclipse.
That, and the sound of school children cheering on behalf of the universe, thinking it was so cool. And the neighbors I had never met who said hello. And how grateful my dogs were that I came back inside and “saved them.” And how much my inner NASA kid discovered he still deeply loves all this stuff.
And feeling that we all came together to share in this.
For an event that by definition is about obscuring, it sure was amazing what it brought to light.
