Path of totality12
38 DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM
FROM TOP: PETER DASILVA; ERNIE MASTROIANNI/DISCOVER; JACQUELINE DORMER/THE REPUBLICAN-HERALD VIA AP;LEROY BURNELL/THE POST AND COURIER VIA AP; ERNIE MASTROIANNI/DISCOVER- Despite lots of clouds, we saw first
and second contacts, the initial diamond
ring, the sun’s corona and fourth contact.
Hearing 25,000 people screaming at
the darkness and the appearance of the
corona is something I’ll never forget.
— Michael Bakich, St. Joseph, MO - Not a cloud crossed the powder
blue sky, allowing a spectacular
view of a surprisingly large sunspot
group followed by several ruby
red prominences during totality.
Shortly after the sun emerged,
massive gridlock formed when
thousands of vehicles funneled
into a handful of exits.
— Ernie Mastroianni, Glendo State Park, WY - What really
amazed me, and
perhaps it was
accentuated due
to our elevation,
was the color: A
brief glimpse of the
sun’s atmosphere
appeared strongly
pink, and we saw what
appeared to be a bluish
tinge with the diamond rings.
It was spectacular!
— David J. Eicher, Jackson Hole, WY - Thousands of people from all over the
world descended on “SolarTown” — a
farmer’s field turned eclipse mega-party.
Favorable winds kept epic wildfire smoke
from ruining the spectacle on eclipse day,
when the moon’s shadow was met with
hoots and hollers and thunderous applause.
An equally epic traffic jam broke out minutes
after totality.
— Eric Betz, Madras, OR
The staffs of sister magazines
Discover and Astronomy were all
over the country during the eclipse.
Here, briefly, is what they saw.Eclipse glasses were
necessary to safely view
all phases of the eclipse
(above). Louis Serrano
dons his own pair in
South Carolina (right).
Terrible traffic jams
began after totality in
Wyoming (below).Students
react
as they
witness
totality in
Oregon
(left).
The sun
disappears
behind the
moon, as
seen from
Wyoming
(below).