Hundreds gathered at Southwestern University on April 8 for the total solar eclipse, although many were worried the day’s cloudy conditions would hide the once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event. Each time there was a break in the clouds, they cheered and quickly put on their eclipse glasses or returned to their telescopes or cameras while a DJ blasted eclipse-appropriate songs like Blinding Lights and the Star Wars theme song.
An amateur photographer who flew from Arizona to watch with her Georgetown friends, Cheryl Decker was excited to see her third total solar eclipse with so many people. “I traveled to Idaho and Chile in 2017 and 2019 for the last two, but I’ve never watched it with such a big group.”
Emily Ely and fellow viewers who work at Southwestern were glad to experience an eclipse in their own backyard, with Emily adding she was thrilled to see everyone else so excited about the rare phenomenon. Sitting with their parents next to Emily’s group, Emma and Ethan were especially looking forward to the event after learning all about it in school. “The next one will be when?” Ethan’s dad asks him. “2045!” Ethan says enthusiastically, adding, “I’m excited to see how dark it will get and if the temperature will drop. And what actual totality looks like and if the clouds will get in the way.”
Almost miraculously, the sky completely cleared about four minutes before totality, raising the curtain on a celestial show that darkened the sky for three minutes and drew cheers and applause from the crowd. “That was so awesome!” one group of Southwestern girls shouted afterwards. “Wow, that was amazing. I’ll see y’all when I’m 40 years old!”