April 8, 2024: Total Solar Eclipse

On April 8, 2024, I experienced the "Great North American Solar Eclipse": a 100% totality solar eclipse. This was filmed at Lake Erie Community Park, in Lake City, Pennsylvania. This video fails to capture the incredible feeling of that moment: in the space of only a few minutes, the path of totality was shrouded in darkness, such as you might see after sunset. The weather forecast said "temperature may drop several degrees during the eclipse," but this was an understatement. I didn't check the temperature, but it felt as though it had become at least fifteen degrees colder in only a few minutes. Thirty minutes before this video was shot, when the eclipse was at about 50% totality, the clouds had dissipated and the sun was shining bright. It was warm enough to take off our jackets and enjoy the weather. But as the Moon moved across the face of the Sun and the darkness descended, the clouds suddenly thickened to the point where we feared we might not see the eclipse at all. I removed the solar filter film from my phone camera lens and simply recorded what little I could. The eclipse lasted a little more than three minutes, and we only saw brief glimpses of it through the clouds. But that was enough.
This was a moment I will remember forever: standing there in the darkness and the cold, looking up at the sky and seeing the clouds penetrated by a ghost of the sun, surrounded by its fiery ring. For those few minutes it felt there was no one else, that we had been cut off from the rest of the world. And then, across the water in the west, the sky turned red as if the dawn was approaching...but the sun was above us, not on the horizon. And then the moment passed, and the sky brightened again, and it was over.
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[@cynthiar6426]

I went outside to see. It was so cloudy I couldn't even find the sun at all. I kept going out every few minutes. One time I was able to see the bright area behind the clouds so I kept staring at that area. Then behold, the clouds in front of the sun thinned enough for me to see the sun. I had to look directly at it. It was peaking at 94% here. It was amazing. The moon looked gray and I could see the craters while a rim of the bright sun peaking out in a very thin crescent. I could've gotten a good picture but if I went to get my phone it would've been over. I didn't want to stare too long, so I just looked at it off and on a few times. Then the clouds took over again. It was fun! The clouds cleared a bit later and it got bright. I figured I could see the waning end of it with the glasses, but they were still completely opaque, and it was too bright to look at without them.

[@castironchaos]

At least you got to see it!

[@cynthiawesley2318]

Awesome. You know it takes a special kind of person to APPRECIATE Gods creations & you must be CIC. You have lived to witness something alot of us WON'T-HISTORY!!! My dude was at work so excited & kept calling to tell what he has lived to see. At that point, i GOT APPRECIATIVE. Hope you njoyd your whole trip. Now what you buy??😂 Im waiting patiently to see.

[@fuzztfork8]

I lied to my cats around 3 pm---told them it was dark and time for them to go to bed..

[@craigwwerner]

I drove 3 hours up to Syracuse from the Lehigh Valley and unfortunately there was a lot of cloud cover. That being said the brief moments that it was visible were absolutely awe inspiring. Ive been to concerts, sporting events, graduations , weddings etc. but the crowd reactions do not compare with what i witnessed yesterday. It was a magical afternoon that I'll remember till the end. So glad i went

[@castironchaos]

As you can see, I had the same results: maybe twenty seconds of view. And it was worth the trip.

[@elteescat]

Your clouds were being jerks, but at least you got to see it! That was a once in a lifetime opportunity!

[@castironchaos]

For many people it was completely blocked and the entire eclipse was ruined. If I'd stayed in Binghamton for the 97% totality, I would have missed it as well. Apparently the clouds rolled in at about noon, and at the moment of totality it was raining.

[@elteescat]

@@castironchaos that's a bummer! We had blue skies with minimal clouds in Ohio

[@bingster-223]

I should have been able to see it from my front porch but we had cloud cover. We were at around 97% eclipse. I had other things to do anyway lol.

[@williamhurt8512]

i was lucky enough to see it through someone else's glasses, looked to be about 95% totality and the quality of the surrounding light was downright eerie, no other fanfare though but i'm still glad that i got a glimpse.........................

[@daveevely2507]

Hi eric in eastern PA it was cloudy so I could look at it with sunglasses

[@castironchaos]

Hope you had a good view!

[@JohnSurf5]

WOW! What a perfect dramatic eclipse. The cloud cover actually made it more dramatic I think. And the bagpipes and fireworks were amazing in the background! I couldn’t help wondering what people centuries before us thought of this phenomenon!

[@castironchaos]

Supposedly at one time in history, a total eclipse occurred at the moment of a major battle in ancient Greece. It frightened both armies into making peace negotiations. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Eclipse

[@JohnSurf5]

@@castironchaos oh, wow. That’s amazing. Thank you for including the Wikipedia. I would believe it. It’s very alarming when it gets dark in the middle of the daytime if you didn’t know why

[@handsomestone8545]

It's funny, It was "Not" an big deal. Then you see everyone out checking it out who said... "eh, not special " What Cast Iron was used?