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Explaining to someone what totality is like can be a little difficult because there's so much more to it than just darkness. There are wind changes, temperature changes, lighting and shadow changes and the people around you react in a way you might not be expecting. As we approached totality the sky became darker but not black. Our camera phones were soaking in every bit of sunlight making it appear much lighter than it actually was.
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At exactly 1pm in Fairmont, Nebraska the moon completely blocked out the sun causing a drastic change in the lighting. The crowd began to cheer and clap as they stood and stared in awe. If you didn't have goosebumps at this point you were a person that felt no connection to something bigger than yourself.
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The best way that I can describe the look of totality is that the ground and area around us was dark. The sky looked much like it does right after dusk and the edges of the horizon showed just enough light that it looked like a 360 degree sunset all the way around us. This was the point where we were able to take off our glasses and stare at the sun. When looking at the sun with the naked eye it actually looked like a dull bright spot not the black spot you see on film.
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I was able to point my telephoto lens directly at the sun and captured the corona around the edges. Totality in our location lasted for 2 minutes and 36 seconds. That was plenty of time to video, snap pictures and then just stand there soaking it all in. People were talking and kissing, the kids were running around hollering and I was just trying to experience the entire event. It did not look dark enough to me to see any stars but we did have clouds surrounding the area we were in.
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Luckily Todd remembered to come over and shoot a selfie with the eclipse behind us. The street lights had come on and you could see camera flashes all over the park. Our totality lasted long enough that the crowd eventually got much quieter and immersed themselves in the moment. But the split second the moon let a crack of light through it instantly became day again. The crowd then again cheered and clapped asking for the moon to do it again. In a flash it was over. Waiting around to watch the end of the partial eclipse seemed so anticlimactic.
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I have to say that the eclipse was most likely the coolest natural event I have ever witnessed. It was an experience and a memory that will last forever. Watching an eclipse in anything but totality from this point forward would make very little sense. Seeing the crescent sun is fun and the hazy sky is a bit weird but being plunged into darkness during the day opens the gates to the power of the planets and universe around us.
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I urge everyone to make plans to view the 2024 solar eclipse in the path of totality. Our hometown of Enid, Oklahoma will experience a solar eclipse in August 2045 which puts us right in the middle of totality. I now plan on living at least until that day in which I can walk out my back door and see my last total eclipse. I'll be 82 years old and I guarantee I'll still get the same tingle and the goosebumps that I got at 54. Until the next one.
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