Shadow Dance: The Solar Eclipse Spectacle in August 2017
The sun had long made its appearance. It was the moon that we were waiting for. Then up in the heavens, they were going to have their celestial rendezvous. And down here, at the Tierra Briarhurst Park, a handful of earthlings had gathered to bear witness.
Just a day earlier we had driven from Minnesota to Lincoln, NE to meet up with our friends Judy and Merle from Wisconsin. Lincoln was the closest town in the path of the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017.
Earlier in the morning, in the dining hall of Hampton Inn, I had seen groups huddled together deciding where to go. Most of them were going to a big event just outside of Lincoln, with several NASA astronauts and other experts, complete with all the hoopla of a mass event. They seemed somewhat stressed out about traffic jams and parking. Why would I want that kind of headache?
Then there was the thing with clouds – some potentially coming our way. I learned that some hardcore had already left for Missouri long before dawn to guarantee a cloud-free sky. We decided to stick it out. So here we were, at Tierra Briarhurst Park, a nondescript neighborhood park in Lincoln, making ourselves comfortable, together with a handful of others. I did not have my camera with me, even though photography is my hobby. In the run-up to the event, I noticed many hobby photographers gearing up with expensive lenses and fancy gadgets. But I had remained cool, and cheap – spending just $10 to get some ISO 12312-2 certified solar eclipse glasses.
As we waited, I was bemused to see the hustle and bustle of the amateur photographers trying out their gadgets. I had no such worries. And later, during the 1:35 minute-long eclipse, while they fiddled to get the best shot of a lifetime, all I had to do was just let myself go – and be entertained by the most mind-bending experience I ever had.
Finally, the moon arrived. I donned the high-tech glasses and settled down in my chair, gazing straight up at the sun. The sun looked like a dim yellow circle, and the moon crept upon it. Slowly, very slowly, the sun first became a concave half-circle, and soon a sickle. But the moon was relentless, and suddenly nothing was to be seen. I took my glasses off.
I had expected a dark sky with stars twinkling, the birds chirping, and all that. Instead, I found myself in a twilight world of neither day nor night. And up in the sky, instead of the sun, there was a strange circle of corona, flickering with a subdued psychedelic flame – mostly blue, purple, and pink. I kept looking at the faint ring of the cosmic flame, taking in every flicker and every subtle change in hue with all my senses. I have no recollection of all the exclamations around me because I was not there – I was one with the cosmos. It lasted for an eternity, and it lasted for a brief moment - and both would be true because time had lost its meaning. The end came with a sudden burst of a dazzling "diamond ring". I had to look away instinctively to protect my vision.... and I woke up!
The next total eclipse on mainland USA is on April 8, 2024. The path runs along Buffalo/Rochester, NY, Cleveland, OH, Indianapolis, IN and between Dallas/San Antonio, TX. Don’t miss it if you can help it. If you watch, don’t settle for anything less than a total eclipse view – the difference is stunning. And by the way, when you go, just leave your camera at home!
Now off to Rocky Mountain National Park......
