Total Eclipse of the Sun!

The event had been hyped by the media for months as a once in a lifetime experience.  For once, the experience lived up to the hype.  Yesterday's total eclipse of the sun was incredible!  Given the fact that April in Ohio is often cloudy, rainy or even snowy, we were concerned that we would not have clear skies to fully appreciate the event.  But the weather was splendid... only some thin wispy clouds and a high temperature of 72 F.

We had a small gathering at Duffy's house, and we were able to see it all from his patio.

Our friend Gayle used to work at the NASA research center here in Cleveland, and she brought approved glasses for everyone to use.  When the eclipse began, we all donned our glasses.

My friend Frank (who used to housesit for me when I would travel to Mexico), Gayle and me

Carlos and Duffy gaze upward as the moon begins to cover the face of the sun.

Gayle also brought filters for photographing the eclipse with the cameras of our cellphones.  However, only one of us had any luck at all capturing pictures of the event.

At two o'clock the eclipse began.

At 3:14 the eclipse reached totality, and it lasted about 4 minutes.

At that point we could look at it without glasses.

The temperature went down noticeably, and it grew dark.  However, it was not pitch dark because the skies beyond the path of totality were still bright.

Then the eclipse started to recede, and we put our glasses on once again.

It was a truly amazing event, and I am so glad that I came to Ohio to see it.

My thanks to Duffy and Carlos for hosting a spectacular get together!