The day we stared at the sun

A 360-degree sunset in mid-afternoon.
Photo by Angela Meyer.

If you have been anywhere in North America this week, you heard about the solar eclipse. Hotel rooms and Airbnbs in the path of totality were booked to capacity. Eclipse glasses were a hot commodity. Crowds gathered in parks yesterday afternoon for "watch parties." The only way to not hear about the solar eclipse was to hide under a rock. 

For those experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime event, I get it. A solar eclipse is a big deal. Here in Woods Hole, we had 91% occlusion, which was pretty impressive. Ambient light was certainly dimmer than I would have expected for 3 pm. It was strange to step outside yesterday and feel the cool air in mid-afternoon. What's even stranger is that this is my third solar eclipse in 4 years - I've seen partial eclipses during field work in the high Arctic and Palau. I'll add this one to the list. 

Total solar eclipse. Photo by
Angela Meyer.

My parents were in the path of totality by sheer coincidence. They passed through Indiana on a road trip yesterday and experienced the occlusion of the sun. My mom described a 360-degree sunset on the horizon. It got so dark, the street lights came on. Then the eclipsed sun emerged right in front of them, and she was savvy enough to snap a photo. 

We live in interesting times, my friends. The next full solar eclipse will not occur in the U.S. until 2044. I'm grateful that I got to see this one.