Eclipse of the Sun, April 8, 2024

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I was curious about solar eclipses in the United States since we became a nation.  Here’s the list.

Yesterday’s eclipse in Rochester NY, mid afternoon wasn’t directly visible to the locals.

Below photo by and of John Bernard in Rochester area on April 8….  The internet report about Rochester NY for April 8.  I knew my brother John was traveling from California to Rochester NY to watch the eclipse at our sister, Mary’s, home.

My requests were brief: “What some people won’t do to get free publicity.  Wave to the camera if you see one – I’ll look for you on the news tonight! Look forward to a full report” and
“I’m expecting a Pulitzer quality shot of the eclipse in Rochester.  Nothing secondhand!
I watched part of it today.  I guess there are no unique stories.  Every sighting is unique!
Hope you saw something.  Sounded like the odds were pretty good.”

About 5:30 my time came three photos from John: the first of overcast sky in Rochester; the last of a sunshiny afternoon in Rochester; and in the middle, this one, taken at the actual time of the eclipse, featuring John and his “sun”.  So, nobody actually saw the eclipse in Rochester on April 8, but everybody experienced it, and in a few minutes it was over, everywhere.

And John gets his Pulitzer from me.  Or whoever had the idea to take this photo of the real world.

In the eclipse at Rochester NY mid-afternoon April 8. John Bernard represents the sun, and the humans, outdoors at Fairport.

Our sister, Mary, hostess, wrote a little later and added her few cents:

Hi guys..,.the much awaited April 8 Eclipse Spectacular event has come and gone.    
JB gave you the executive summary permitting me license to spin the rest of the story. 
 
Sunday evening, April 7, we attended a musical evening with classical, pops, ballet, vocal, troupe vertigo and video depictions of all things extraterrestrial.  It was held at the convention center and we weaved through a highly unusual Rochester traffic jam as multiple lines of traffic and drivers who do not understand the zipper merge went into the “20 dollar prepay” parking garage. The concert started 30 minutes late so I would imagine people who had allowed extra time to get there were a little annoyed at us and the other hundreds of  late comers.
 
T’was good though!
 
JB was on California time and plenty tired after some air delays Saturday and a busy Sunday of sightseeing his way from Pittsburgh to Rochester.   Monday, the big day, started mid morning at a busy local diner Donuts Delite/Salvatores Pizza. We also checked out the reservoir at Highland Park which is being drained after a recent crime and was to be site of the Channel 13 watch party.  A bit more traffic than usual, for sure, but the clouds were building fast and hopes of a clear blue sky for the spectacular at 3:15 PM were falling quickly.
 
However, our clouds were not of interest to national media outlets who were scattered along the whole path of totality to find a good spot.  Lucky thousands who chose the Indianapolis Speedway for their watch party!
 
Streets got quiet around noon as folks were gathering in various places to eat junk and wait for darkness.  There were plenty of watch parties but we stayed around Wickford.  JB took the bike for a short spin and I went to the JCC where at least one person in town didn’t know the 
Eclipse was happening.  At least that could be assumed from her “Oh, is that today” comment……also notable was the lifeguard who knew of the eclipse driven early closing of the fitness center but thought it was for ‘tollitarity”.
 
We are all better versed in Eclipse jargon today!
 
Finally-it is 3:15 PM.  It did get cooler, it did get very dark – there was no need for glasses to protect the eyes.  The clouds did a good job.  However, we could hear and see the sounds and sights of fireworks.   
 
 Would you believe that sun and blue sky re-appeared at 5:30 PM.  Local news covered local events and  Rotarians reminded us we could donate our gently used eclipse glasses or save them for the next total or partial sighting-should we be fortunate enough to continue to inhabit the earth.
 
And that, dear readers, is a part of the rest of the story! Have a great week, everyone!

In the evening came photos from Mary Ann’s son, Sean, in Houston TX, and daughter, Rebecca, who had driven from Springfield IL to Indianapolis IN.
from nephew, Sean: From Houston – L’s phone – very overcast today

Eclipse viewed in Houston April 8, 2024

from niece, Rebecca: Very clear in Indianapolis!  Had a great view with the Moody nephews at a park near Evin’s. Completely bemused by the animals not quite sure why night was 10 minutes long! 

Easy peasy drive back to Springfield [Il], minimal delays!
(Best I could do with my iPhone 🤷‍♀️)

Indianapolis IN April 8, 2024

from Nancy in Salt Lake City:  Thanks for the reports and the photos.  It sounds like a fun and interesting time, despite the clouds in Rochester (and Houston).  The corona sounds like it was the star of the show in places where it was clear.  It was relatively quiet and uneventful here.  

I appreciate everyone sharing their photos and experiences!

from Mary: I celebrated by doing three hours of a life drawing of five darkened sites transmitted by tv and filtered by nasa. Bob in speaker phone connection gave language to one corona.  equatorial….another was diamond…..another series of spots reflected light from moon valleys,,,,,,physicists are so much fun,,,,,text me if you want that work in progress photo…..

I celebrate that the sense of awe and wonder was directed by positive embracing of science and nature
*

So went the great eclipse of April 8, 2024, at least for one American family.  Doubtless the perfect photo is readily accessible on the internet.  The Minneapolis Star Tribune had a shot from Farmington Missouri dominating the front page of the paper.  I prefer the ones shared here!

I don’t think I’ve been proximate to past eclipses of the sun.  [Postnote 7 p.m. Apr 9: Apparently there was only one solar eclipse that passed over ND in my lifetime, and that was 1979 when I was long gone from there.  The next one is 2044.  Lunar eclipses are more common.

The one specific memory of a ‘heavenly object’ was watching Sputnik blink through the brilliantly dark night sky over the North Dakota farm in the fall of 1957.  I was a senior in high school, and the Soviets win in the space race got the U.S. up and running and the rest is still evolving history.

These events are important to the extent that they encourage conversation and learning.  Thanks, everyone.

POSTNOTE:

Twice before I’ve had actual reports from observers of U.S. eclipses.

Kathy in Mt Angel OR had an excellent view of the eclipse in 2017.  I think these photos were taken at the time the eclipse was occurring on an obviously clear sky.   Oregon August 21, 2017

Composite photo of the Oregon eclipse in 2017, from the area near Mt. Angel..

The same eclipse attracted my daughter, Lauri, who took a friend and several of their kids to  the St. Louis area August 21, 2017.  They had the same weather condition as Rochester, and ended up having lunch on the lawn at the Gateway Arch, closed at the time for renovation.

I think everyone in each of these vignettes found the time worthwhile.  And I’m sure it was shared.