By Don Steen ~ Staff Writer • [email protected]
The Monday, April 8 Total Eclipse is officially in the books, and Earth’s moon and star put on quite a show. While spotted by clouds throughout that morning, the sky was relatively clear for the main event. Travelers from across the country came out to join local communities for the cosmic occasion, though admittedly not quite as many as some projections.
Holiday World’s Legend Parking Lot still had plenty of space by the time the Eclipse began in earnest, and that was hardly a bad thing. Stargazers had plenty of room to mingle and enjoy the food, as well as improvise their own entertainment.
Kids in family units or larger groups quickly set about organizing games with sidewalk chalk, bubbles and other diversions. Some even improvised a game of Marco Polo, using their Eclipse glasses as blinders.
Particularly prepared stargazers brought out large telescopes to attempt to photograph the Eclipse, hoping for a clear sky when totality arrived. Others simply taped the filters of their eclipse glasses to phone cameras.
When the big moment came, all generators, radios and other music were silenced, allowing the crowd to take in all the alien sensations of the Eclipse. A hush went not only over the crowd, as well as birds and insects, as Santa Claus was briefly cast in a muted shadow and a sudden shift in temperature.
The sun wasted little time behind the moon, however, and was greeted with applause as the bright spring day swiftly returned in a matter of minutes.
Featured Image: The solar eclipse, when it reached totality, gave viewers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the sun’s corona – the outermost layer that displayed a magnificent white ring of light
People of all ages showed up to view the eclipse on Monday. Some traveled from as far as California, and even overseas, to witness the historical event
Here are some more pictures of the solar eclipse that took place last Monday
The festivities did not stop after the eclipse ended, as many attendees participated in games and activities to pass the time
