On April 8, which was a Monday, a total solar eclipse moved across North America, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. It lasted for up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds if you were in its path.
Our city was not in the path of totality. We only had a partial eclipse of about 87%. And that’s the reason why I didn’t bother to grab myself a pair of eclipse glasses. It got gloomy while the eclipse was going on, though which actually felt a little eerie.
So why didn’t I bother to look up at the sky and see the partial eclipse?
Remembering…
Well, back in 1988, my hometown of General Santos City or GenSan for short was the center of a total solar eclipse. It happened on March 18 to be precise. It has been 36 years ago already but I still vividly remember that amazing moment when the total eclipse finally happened and it got dark. The totality lasted for 3 minutes and 46 seconds. And we enjoyed ourselves in those minutes looking up at the sky and witnessing that magnificent phenomenon.
The entire city was also into a festival-like mode leading up to the day of the total solar eclipse. There were tourists, TV crews, journalists, astronomers, etc. from all over the world to witness the event. There was also a shopping area that they set up near downtown for souvenirs and all. It was an event and experience that I know I will remember for the rest of my life.
Watching…
I watched ABC News’ coverage on TV for 2 hours. They started to show the totality in a place in Mexico then continued showing totalities in cities that were in the path, and ended with David Muir in Vermont. Seeing the people’s reaction on TV made me nostalgic. We had the same reactions as it finally got dark. It definitely was a WOW moment.
Enjoying…
Quebec also got a partial eclipse and got more than 90%. My brother and his family live there and they made sure to have their eclipse glasses ready. The photos below were courtesy of my sister-in-law.
She just used her cellphone thus, the poor quality of the photos.
It still looked pretty cool, though.
Looking Forward To…
Witnessing the next total solar eclipse in the United States which is in 20 years. On August 23, 2044 to be exact. LOL.
How about you? How was the total solar eclipse experience for you?
We got totality and we got clouds here in Buffalo. Thankfully, at the peak moment, the clouds broke and we got a beautiful moment to see the full eclipse. It was truly beautiful.
We were in the path of total totality but sadly it was overcast so we didn’t see much. It did get dark at least, but I wished I could have seen the eclipse. I was watching the news too so I could at least witness some of it.
We went to Texas to get in the path of totality, but it was cloudy. Luckily the clouds parted and we got a glimpse of totality before it was covered once again. Still a really cool experience for everything to go dark during the day.
We had a fairly decent eclipse. We were not in the path of absolute totality, but we were close. However, it was a bit cloudy, so it was not ideal, but memorable nonetheless.
We were unable to see the eclipse where we are unfortunately although with the clouds we wouldn’t have seen it anyway. It is a shame you didn’t get to see much either. It sounds like Quebec got a far better view of the eclipse. It’s good your brothers family had their glasses ready for the event.
Wow, reading your insights was such a treat and those photos are amazing!
The combination of a mass wedding event and a solar eclipse is truly unique and captivating. The symbolism of two rare events coming together to celebrate love and unity is a moment that will surely be cherished by all the couples involved.
I did enjoyed eclipse, the best totality i have seen so far was back in East TN it was year 2017. Now i lived upstate NY and we got lots of tourist here in Niagara Falls area but the Buffalo weather is very disappointing.