On April 8, 2024, around 34 million people gathered in states across the US to watch the solar eclipse. Eclipses have fascinated humans for thousands of years, in fact, the word eclipse originates from a Greek word meaning abandonment. When the ancient Greeks saw eclipses, they believed that their gods were angry with them and took away the sun as a punishment for their wrongdoings.
Nowadays, people understand the science behind eclipses and view them as a beautiful, rare occurrence, rather than an angry message from the gods. However, this does not make solar eclipses any less popular; the rarity of a total eclipse alone makes them such a unique event. The last time a total solar eclipse could be viewed from the US was in 2017, and viewers will have to wait another 20 years to see another.
A total solar eclipse is the result of the moon moving between the sun and the earth, therefore completely blocking the sun, causing the sky to darken. Each solar eclipse has a path of totality where people on Earth cannot see the sun, as it is completely blocked by the moon. This past solar eclipse had a path of totality spanning across the United States, touching 13 different states such as Texas and Vermont. Viewers first saw totality in North America at 11:07 am pacific standard time near Mexico’s Pacific Coast and the eclipse left Maine, moving into Canada at 5:16 pm newfoundland daylight time.
Though the total eclipse was only visible from 13 states, a partial eclipse could be seen from all regions of the US, including the Concord Academy campus. However, students had to be careful when watching the partial eclipse as the moon never fully covers the sun and looking at the sun without eye protection can cause severe eye damage. After classes, students gathered on the quad at 3:30 pm to see the eclipse with maximum coverage (around 93%) and the Science Department distributed eclipse glasses so everyone could watch without damaging their vision.
Even though Concord Academy was not in the path of totality, students were still able to see the eclipse and experience something that will not happen in the US for another two decades.