Small Scopes

Report on the eclipse

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Then my mind was brought back to the present by the cheers of my fellow onlookers. First contact had occurred at 11:20am. Right on time, I started taking my pictures - once every 5 minutes or so as to give me a good series of photos to show off to my friends back home, and to give me a good record of what really happened just in case I failed to witness a visual for myself.

The moon ever so slowly kept covering the sun, first one quarter, then half and then three quarters. I made sure to keep a cool head and do everything right, just as I had practiced in my mind so many times before. And then it started to happen. I noticed the sky started to turn a dark blue; the shadows on the ground were more vivid than I had ever seen before; the birds that I had noticed chirping were silent now; a little chill had filled the air as I put on my jacket.

I was so excited by that point that I could hardly stand it. I felt like I was in my own little zone. Even JoAnne, my non-astronomer partner, was getting exited. And then, just before totality, I heard someone yell out, " There is Venus!"

It was getting so dark out that you could actually see the planet Venus along with some of the other bright stars twinkling in the middle of the day. This is not normal, I was thinking to myself, even though I knew it was going to happen.

And then, like some supreme being had intervened, at 12:38 pm the sky turned black, the sun disappeared behind the moon, and this bright haze around the two combined bodies, known as the "suns corona," shined brightly like some hazy atmosphere.

I was just in awe. I know no other words to accurately describe the sight or how I was feeling. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, even if it was for only 3 minutes and 56 seconds.

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posted by Tako John @ 8:48 PM