“FREAKING NUTS”
Businesses capitalized on the excitement with special events, while hotels and short-term rentals in prime viewing locations were booked solid for months in advance.
At the Stonehenge II park in Ingram, Texas — a replica of the prehistoric arrangement of stones in England — eclipse watchers gathered from across the world, screaming and cheering at the moment of totality.
Jeni Lyn Hunter, 57, and her husband Charles Guillory, 60, had travelled from Floresville, Texas. The couple identified as “pagans” and wore Merlin hats.
“It means a lot to me because I have stage four cancer but I’m not giving up, this is a rebirth of the Sun of life,” Hunter told AFP.
And in Russellville, Arkansas, hundreds of couples exchanged vows at “A Total Eclipse of the Heart” mass wedding ceremony.
Delta Airlines has planned two special flights along the path, while many schools in the zone shut for the day.
NASA CONDUCTS TESTS DURING ECLIPSE
Then there’s the science. NASA planned to launch a trio of sounding rockets before, during and just after the eclipse to measure changes caused by the sudden darkness of the ionosphere, an upper layer of the atmosphere important for long-distance radio communication.
The eclipse also offered a golden opportunity to study the Sun’s corona, the outer layer of its atmosphere which is normally hidden by the blinding light of the surface, but has an outsized impact on everything from satellites to power grids.
“There’s a few high clouds but the beauty of the corona is clearly visible,” said NASA heliophysicist Michael Kirk as the eclipse passed through Dallas. “You can see that spiky structure just poking out — It is heart-stopping beautiful.”
He was thrilled that the Sun was near the peak of its 11-year cycle, resulting in an asymmetrical corona. As the eclipse unfolded, the rugged lunar topography revealed itself in a stunning ‘diamond ring’ effect, while planets like Venus and Jupiter briefly appeared in the sky.
Startling animal behaviour has been noted during past eclipses — roosters can crow as the darkness ends believing it is dawn.
In humans, eclipses trigger feelings of awe as we confront our place within the vast cosmic order. Individuals exhibit more “prosocial” feelings towards each other in the aftermath of the shared experience.
Source: CNA
