The 2024 total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 was an amazing event and a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me, seeing that it’s not likely I’ll travel anywhere to see another one. This one was right in my own backyard in Northeast Ohio. Well, technically I watched it from my front yard, with my husband and older sister in attendance. What a sight, and what a sensation! Visually it was spectacular and the quick changes in the environment was both amazing and surreal.
We were fortunate that the sky, historically cloudy on April 8, was fantastic, with warm temperatures and only thin, high clouds. The sun had a halo around it for most of the afternoon. As totality approached, the sunlight became less bright, and when totality was only 15 minutes away, the brightness dimmed considerably. We could see the sun's halo disappear as the moon's shadow approached. A light breeze kicked up and the temperatures dropped. I’ve seen a partial eclipse and an annular eclipse before, but nothing prepared me for seeing deep darkness descend so quickly. And not only did it get very dark, but there was a look of a sunrise (or sunset) 360 degrees around. There are no words to completely describe the look of the sun at totality, with just a ring of light around the edges and red solar prominences clearly visible. It was exhilarating! We had totality just a hair short of four minutes (3 minutes 51 seconds), but when it was over, the light brightened very quickly. We did hear birds calling during the darkness, and unfortunately we heard a lot of fireworks. But the fireworks didn’t spoil the unreal scene we just experienced.
If you ever get a chance to see a total eclipse, DO IT. It is an experience that should not be missed. Here are photos that I took at totality; it doesn’t quite capture all of the experience but it’s the next best thing!
All photos by Chris Zimmer
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