Eclipse of the Sun, April 8, 2024
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.
Our sister, Mary, hostess, wrote a little later and added her few cents:
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 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!
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…..
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
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.
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