I hope all of my North American friends enjoyed our very exciting solar eclipse last week!
I know sometimes it seems that we’re experiencing a solar eclipse every few years, but this time was special- it’s the first time a total solar eclipse has been visible in all three North American countries since 1979, and the last time we’ll see one on mainland USA until 2044!
As some background, there are a few different kinds of solar eclipses- a partial solar eclipse involves the moon partially obscuring the light from the sun.
An annual solar eclipse involves the moon itself blocking out most of the sun, but the size of the moon is not large enough to fully block out the sun, leaving a ring of light.
The coup de grace of solar eclipses is the total solar eclipse. During a total solar eclipse, the sun is completely obscured by the shadow of the moon, allowing only the sun’s corona to be visible, and plunging a narrow track of land called the “path of totality” into darkness.
I highly suggest that travelers book their trips well in advance- I watched hotel prices triple over just a few short months. While booking, try to choose a location that has events planned- the sense of community from these eclipses are my favorite parts!
New York City was lucky enough to be in the path of a partial solar eclipse twice in recent years- once in 2017, and most recently in April 2024.
I was young in 2017, and didn’t quite grasp the rarity of the event I was witnessing- and beyond that, I was working! I begged my manager to let our team take a break during the peak of the eclipse, and we spent some time crafting pinhole projectors before the event so we could view it safely- none of us had solar eclipse glasses to look directly.
When the eclipse hit, we all went outside with our little pinhole projectors, which allow the crescent shape of the sun to pass through to the ground. It was summer, so it was also very exciting to see the crescent shapes in the shadows of nearby trees.
As exciting as the eclipse was, my fondest memory of it was actually how involved the people of New York City were. Despite being in the middle of the work day, people of all ages and professions gathered outside to witness the eclipse together, and we were even offered a peak at the sun through the eclipse glasses of our newfound friends.
I’m told that this year was much the same- one of the few times New York City has ever been still. This time, however, I was determined to see the total eclipse- I’d already seen a partial eclipse and the path of totality was too close not to try for it!
I picked a town in upstate New York and watched the weather nervously as clouds became more and more likely to obscure our view of the sun.
The small village we stayed in didn’t have too much traffic- the larger cities nearby took the brunt of that, and I suspect that people took off in different directions once it became clear that the weather wouldn’t be the best.
Having already booked a hotel room for the night, we decided to commit to our decision and keep our fingers crossed.
The town’s local brewery was hosting an eclipse party, and while we didn’t stay there, we did make sure to get some commemorative total eclipse drinks! We were a little too slow to nab one of their t-shirts, but this was a nice consolation prize.
Rather than staying at the brewery for the eclipse, we headed out to a local field, where the firefighters were hosting a barbecue. We met several other groups who had traveled from all over and were hoping for the best. I even ran into a group that was debating trying to race up to the Northeast where it was rumored to be less cloudy- but there was no guarantee it would remain that way, and no way to know what the traffic would look like on the way.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get lucky with visibility and the clouds thickened throughout the day- we could see the moon’s shadow covering the sun up until about 5% of it was obscured and then briefly again at about 50% and then…absolutely nothing. All in, we had about 5 minutes of visibility for the entire two hour event.
Disappointing for sure- I was just kicking myself for not staying in the much less cloudy NYC when the totality occurred, and that’s when my perspective changed.
Since the clouds made the area dim already, it was difficult to notice the rapidly decreasing visibility, until it seemed that every time I blinked it was getting darker. The shadow of the moon looked almost like thunderclouds sweeping over the area, until we were covered in it and surrounded by a dusky sunset at the edges.
The air grew colder rapidly and the birds became active as they looked for a place to roost. Passing cars had their headlights turned on and automatic lights turned themselves on in the distance.
And then it was over- the shadow moved on and things went back to normal. Of course, I waited around in the unrewarded hope that the clouds would clear up again, but after that it was simply a normal day.
Now, would I say that it’s worth seeing a total solar eclipse, even if you’re not actually SEEING a total solar eclipse? Absolutely. An opportunity to witness such a unique event only comes around every so often and seeing a little bit is better than not seeing it all. Although the prediction of decreased visibility did not result in decreased hotel price, we were repaid by a relative lack of traffic on the way home since people were less willing to travel for an obscured eclipse.
That being said, I have looked up the next total solar eclipse and I’ll see you all in Spain 2026.
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