Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him. – Annie Dillard

Eclipse Party

It was hot, hot, hot, but it was really cool too! Anne, Bill and I ended up heading southwest to Pacific and partied with our hosts, Dan & Mary. We had a plethora of eclipse viewing equipment, cameras, telescope, binoculars and tons of cheap cardboard eclipse glasses. Waiting for the solar eclipse to begin seemed to take forever and while waiting we fretted every passing cloud, but in the end all was well. Once the eclipse began, there was still a long wait, as the moon ate more and more of the sun. The sun went from a full disk, to one with a tiny nibble out of it, then a bite, then it turned into a crescent sun, a sliver and then it was gone. We ripped our glasses off, removed our solar filters and there it was, a glowing corona, with a black hole in the center. Just like it is in all of the photos. The streetlights came on, neighbors screamed and the world around us was bathed in an otherworldly light. I didn’t take as many photos as I had in 1979, but instead spent more time looking at the event. Our two and a half minutes of totality came and went all too fast, but it was still awesome. 

Total Eclipse 2017