Happy Eclipse Day, Muchachos

College of Southern Nevada, Dale Etheridge Planetarium. This morning I ventured out to my local community college to visit their cool planetarium to view today’s solar eclipse. When I got there local astronomers were setting up their telescopes in the parking lot. But, because Las Vegas would only be experiencing only a 51% partial eclipse, I decided to go inside to the planetarium theater where they were sharing the NASA video feed. The space agency had set up cameras and commentators in the path of totality. The coverage began in Mazatlan, Mexico then continued through San Antonio, Dallas, Russellville, Carbondale, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Niagara Falls and ending in Houlton, Maine. They also shared the view of the shadow of the eclipse from an agency jet that was chasing the eclipse and from the International Space Station.

I know that I could have seen the same feed from the comfort of my own recliner at home but, even if I couldn’t be in the path of totality live, there’s something about experiencing the event with friends and others that can make it all the more enjoyable and memorable. Many of the NASA commentators shared that as the sky darkened the crowd generated an energy that was very much like a sporting event. Having watched many NASA launches at or near Kennedy Space Center, I can attest to the power of the collective excitement and anxiousness about what the gathered are witnessing. I had heard that the weather/cloud cover was going to be problematic for most of the United States, with the best possibility for view being at the tail end in Maine. But it turned out that almost all of the selected viewing sites had a marvelous experience watching the event, save Niagara Falls, which was the only site that was mostly cloud covered except for a couple seconds during the 4-minute totality. While some commented later online that they had traveled hundreds of miles for a four-minute experience (AND THAT IT WAS WORTH IT!), I do wish that I had made a better attempt at getting out there and experienced in the path of totality. I guess that’s another thing that I need to add to my bucket list.

The NASA feed was great, with a few celebrities making recorded appearances to make sure that attendees had proper eye-protection or, in the case of Scarlett Johansson, ask a question about the event (and promote an upcoming movie that has her character working for NASA). We also experienced the dreaded “SOFTWARE UPDATE” message during the event. Fortunately it was on the local computer and not some network error. Besides the images from the event, I’ve included two videos, one of the first totality in Mazatlan, Mexico and the last totality in Houlton, Maine. Enjoy.