It's Eclipse Day!!

Hi everyone! Today was an exciting day...when the moon crossed in front of the sun, in perfect alignment with the Earth. Watching the news, I was amazed at the size of the crowds, a truly national (and international - one reporter said 20 countries were represented) gathering for everyone to experience, what could be a once in a lifetime event. I saw a smiling bride and groom standing among a crowd, looking up toward the darkened afternoon sky; and it appears many couples said 'I do' today during the total solar eclipse. I watched as people waited anxiously, followed by cheers, in Saluki Stadium, Carbondale, Illinois - where tickets cost up to ten thousand dollars. And after they saw its totality -the longest duration: 2 minutes and 41 seconds- they were able to see Venus in the sky (might I remind you this was in early afternoon!). What an amazing sight it must have been!

As for how I experienced the eclipse, well...the glasses were all sold out, so I consulted the internet for how to experience it without looking at the sun! The Washington Post came through, providing me with easy directions for a pinhole projector. I used a Thin Mints box because I of course wanted to make the box be a special one and what better way to celebrate an eclipse than with cookies! Making it was so simple - white paper goes on the inside for the screen, cut two squares, cover one with foil, poke a hole through the foil, that's pretty much it. So here's my box and here's the best picture I could get of what I could see. Looking at the image of the sun is so incredibly misleading because its the middle of the afternoon and you see what looks like a crescent moon and it's just amazing and so fun to look at! Unfortunately my picture below does not do it justice for what I could really see (and of course what the people in the path of totality could see!). In my area, the peak time for the solar eclipse was 2:41 pm EDT, I watched from 2 to 3, and when I looked through my projector again at 4, the sun's image was a complete circle again!

and these three...well...they're just really cool to look at  :)

in these, you can see the sun and moon overlapping

Mercury is on the left, Mars is on the right, and Venus is at the bottom of the last picture

these were taken, respectively at: 12:30, 2:05, 2:15 and 3:15

Don't worry, if you weren't in the path of the total solar eclipse this year in 2017, the next one will be April 8, 2024. Check the map below from NationalEclipse.com to find out if you'll get the chance to see it! I'll be able to see it - will you? (Or will you be lucky enough to be right in that spot where the two paths collide and you get to see it twice?)

Also, check out this map from GreatAmericanEclipse.com to see all the future solar eclipses in the next hundred years

Now I want to hear about what you did and what you saw today! Let me know in the comments down below! I hope everyone had the chance to enjoy such a great phenomena on this exciting day!

💖,
The North Star Gazer 🌟