One year and one day ago today, on August 21, 2017, I was fortunate enough to witness one of nature’s most stunning events when the total solar eclipse passed through the United States. When I first heard about this event, sometime around May or June, I hoped very much that somehow I would be able to make the trip to somewhere on the path of totality(the approximately 70 mile wide line where the moon blocks 100% of the sunlight to Earth), which stretched from Oregon to South Carolina. Living in Southern California, the closest place for me to view the eclipse in all its glory turned out to be Idaho. In Southern California, if I was not able to make the trip, the moon would still eclipse a portion of the Sun(which would obviously still be cool to see), but now having seen it in totality, I’m so happy that I was able to make it work.
A few weeks before the eclipse, my dad and I decided that it was for sure worth it to try and find a way to make it to the line of totality on August 21st. Even though it was a strain on our schedules, and we would likely be extremely rushed traveling there and back, we knew it would very likely be a once in a lifetime experience to witness such a rare event as a total eclipse. As it turns out, millions of people we thinking the same thing and all flights to anywhere even near the line of totality were either sold out or extremely expensive, so the only option was to drive, which we decided we would do. Unfortunately, however, as the day got closer, my dad ended up not being able to fit it into his schedule and had to stay in California and watch the partial eclipse from here. Fortunately for me, however, my mom and two of my siblings agreed to travel to Idaho Falls with me, and on Sunday, August 20th we left California and drove towards Idaho. Since every hotel room in or near Idaho Falls had been booked for months, if not years in some cases, we drove to Salt Lake City on Sunday and on Monday drove the rest of the way to Idaho Falls, just in time to find some eclipse glasses and a parking spot.
After we finally parked and found a nice viewing area in town at about 10:40am, we looked up with our eclipse glasses on and could see that the moon had already started moving across the face of the Sun. At this point, only about a quarter of the Sun was covered, and other than looking through the eclipse glasses at the Sun, it was difficult to tell that it was any darker outside. As we waited until 11:32am, at which time the Sun would be completely covered, it slowly became evident that the light of day was getting dimmer. As it began to get eerily darker, insects began coming out as they do in the evening, and the street lights turned on. Even by about 11:30, with just a sliver of the Sun still visible, it was still to bright to look at with the naked eye, but it was about as dark outside as a normal evening about 20 minuets after sunset.
At 11:32am, the moment we had all waited for finally arrived, and the entire city seemed to gasp in awe of what they were witnessing(there we thousands of people outside around us). The surface of the Sun was completely covered by the moon and it was as dark outside as any night at midnight. Stars were visible above, and the air temperature had probably dropped by about 10 to 15 degrees since the start of the eclipse. By far the most amazing part for me was seeing the corona that surrounds the Sun, which cannot be seen to the naked eye except during the brief period of a total eclipse. My best description of it would be like a ring of flames surrounding a black hole(the moon). If it wasn’t the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen, then I don’t know what is. I know this sounds corny, but for the next minuet and a half I was covered in goosebumps trying to make each second last as long as possible. When totality ended, and the bright edge of the sun broke through the darkness, the whole city cheered at the spectacle they had just witnessed. Perhaps the cheers were also also about the Sun coming out again, and that it wasn’t gone forever. As much as the Sun can get a bad rap for being obtrusively hot, bright, and uncomfortable a lot of days, ever since the eclipse I have a little more of an appreciative attitude towards the constant, reliable light and life it provides each day.
Over a year later now, whenever I talk to someone about that time I saw the Solar Eclipse, I tell them whatever you do, its worth it to try and see one at least once in your life. I can tell you, you won’t regret it.