A Total Eclipse of the Sun

 

Photo from NASA

Today we witnessed a total eclipse of the sun. The moon passed between the sun and the earth, completely blocking the face of the sun. In our area, the totality (photo above) happened at approximately 3:15 p.m.

I'm 65 years old and this is the first time I have ever been able to witness this phenomenon. I will likely not witness it again. Even though totality only lasted about 3 1/2 minutes, it was amazing. 

Because we live in northeast Ohio, there was a good chance we would have too much cloud cover in April to see anything, but we were blessed with clear skies!

Don and I went to an event at Case Western Reserve. After the luncheon, a panel of professors presented information and answered questions about the eclipse. Afterward, we went outside the Student Center to wait and watch.

I took this photo during the three minutes of totality when we were allowed to remove our protective glasses. The air temperature dropped about 15 degrees, the sky got dark, and there was an eeriness about night lights coming on in the afternoon.

Marion, IN was also in the path of totality. Katherine, Josh, and Marina were in darkness for 2 1/2 minutes. Marina called it "the moon getting squished." I liked the paper plate masks they made for the kids.

Daniel, Heidi, Dean, and Gavin enjoyed the eclipse from their house. Well... Gavin wasn't sure what was going on, but he enjoyed the sudden darkness.

Dean loved it when it got dark outside in the middle of the day. When the sun started brightening things up again he ran into the house crying. He said to tell him when it happens again. Unfortunately, that won't be until the year 2044.