Great American Eclipse

What is a Total Solar Eclipse? A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. The moon appears to completely cover the disc of the sun. By blocking the sun's light, the moon casts a shadow that turns day in an eerie twilight here on Earth. Eclipses occur because of the special coincidence of the moon and sun being the same size to our eyes. The sun is 400 times wider than the moon, but it is also 400 times farther away, so they appear to be the same size in the sky.

Why is this called the “Great American Eclipse?” This is the first total solar eclipse that is only visible in the U.S. and no other country. It will be the first total eclipse visible only in the USA since the country was founded in 1776. Everyone in the U.S. will see at least a partial solar eclipse; however, only people in the “path of totality” will see a total solar eclipse. The shadow began its travel in Oregon. At 3,000 miles per hour, it took about 12 minutes for the shadow to speed from the Oregon Coast to the Oregon-Idaho border. The entire trip from Oregon to South Carolina will lasted only 90 minutes. The path will cross parts of 12 states: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  The next total solar eclipse here in the U.S. will be on April 8, 2024, which will be from Texas to New England.

It is astonishing how fast the shadow moves, barreling towards you like a freight train. As the shadow engulfs you and you first notice the amazing light, as if sunset is happening on the horizon 360 degrees around you, the temperature drops, the air becomes still, and everything seems unusually quiet. Watching through your “eclipse glasses” you see the moon first kiss the sun and watch in amazement as more and more of the sun’s disc is covered. Just as the moon covers the sun you hope to have a fleeting glimpse of Baily’s Beads, the bright glow of lights on edge of the moon, caused by the sun peeking around mountain peaks on the moon. And then it happens! Totality. The moment you have been waiting for, when the moon obscures the sun and darkness descends. Only now is it safe to remove the eclipse glasses and look at the sun. The corona glows and dances around the black sun, stars are out and you find you are forgetting to breathe much less press the shutter. In that moment, as I stared at the sky and was caught in God's awesome wonder, my brain froze, I got goosebumps...I forgot what camera settings I needed to capture that moment in time...I was totally lost. After a few seconds, I snapped out of it and realized I needed to get the filter off of my camera and quickly as totality does not last long, 1 minute and 16 seconds in Woodburn is all. I took a LOT of pictures trying to capture each and every phrase of the eclipse, I only caught a couple of clicks of totality, and while none of them are that good, that picture is forever etched in my mind and nothing can take it away from me so my snapshots will have to be a reminder of that moment that there are no adequate words to describe.