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I got to see a total solar eclipse for the first time in my life. It was entirely cloudy, because of course it was.
I was so depressed when I couldn't see the partial eclipse starting, but once the darkness started descending, it was extraordinary. Slowly, the entire world started dimming. That took around 20 minutes. It was so gradual. And then, totally descended. The sun set in the north. It was completely night, but a slightly off-color night, more like a tornado sky but much darker. The temperature dropped to below freezing within seconds, causing steam to rise off the lake. We could see our breath. It was sending my inner compass into disarray, and shooting warning signals to my brain. The animals went bonkers. Geese were screaming and flying off. Dogs were howling. If I didn't know what was happening, I would have joined them in their panic. But instead, the humans were cheering and shouting. We knew it wasn't actually the apocalypse. Well, most of us did.
The clouds were gorgeous. They were glowing faintly, in a way that is distinctly different from when they just reflect the light pollution from below. It did not translate to film very well, but I tried my best to bring it out with some minor editing. I will keep trying. This fact made me grateful that we had total cloud cover. The corona translates to photo extremely well. It is easy to see. I have never seen or even heard about the glowing clouds before.
We had about 4 minutes of totality, all said and done. Someone was flying a drone around, and we could follow the lights of it. Someone else set off some fireworks. I kissed my husband and told him it was our first kiss during an eclipse. He laughed. My kid did the same with his girlfriend. Honestly, he did it first, which is what gave me the idea. I was too caught up in the wonder of the world to think of it myself.
Then, all at once, the sun rose in the west. Everything lightened back up. We all cheered, and welcomed the sun back from its journey. I developed a much clearer understanding of exactly how quickly we would crash into an ice age if the sun got blocked out by volcanic ash or dust clouds.
Behind us, someone set off fireworks, and caught their house on fire. Black smoke started rising into the sky. Lucky for them, a fire truck was right across the street. I don't know if it was just good fortune, or if they were repeat offenders, but the fire was out quickly. Not before I captured a stunning image of the smoke looming overhead like the angel of death.
It would be hypocritical of me to mock them, so I won't. But we did leave quickly, before the road closed down. I love solar eclipses. Especially with total cloud cover.
I was so depressed when I couldn't see the partial eclipse starting, but once the darkness started descending, it was extraordinary. Slowly, the entire world started dimming. That took around 20 minutes. It was so gradual. And then, totally descended. The sun set in the north. It was completely night, but a slightly off-color night, more like a tornado sky but much darker. The temperature dropped to below freezing within seconds, causing steam to rise off the lake. We could see our breath. It was sending my inner compass into disarray, and shooting warning signals to my brain. The animals went bonkers. Geese were screaming and flying off. Dogs were howling. If I didn't know what was happening, I would have joined them in their panic. But instead, the humans were cheering and shouting. We knew it wasn't actually the apocalypse. Well, most of us did.
The clouds were gorgeous. They were glowing faintly, in a way that is distinctly different from when they just reflect the light pollution from below. It did not translate to film very well, but I tried my best to bring it out with some minor editing. I will keep trying. This fact made me grateful that we had total cloud cover. The corona translates to photo extremely well. It is easy to see. I have never seen or even heard about the glowing clouds before.
We had about 4 minutes of totality, all said and done. Someone was flying a drone around, and we could follow the lights of it. Someone else set off some fireworks. I kissed my husband and told him it was our first kiss during an eclipse. He laughed. My kid did the same with his girlfriend. Honestly, he did it first, which is what gave me the idea. I was too caught up in the wonder of the world to think of it myself.
Then, all at once, the sun rose in the west. Everything lightened back up. We all cheered, and welcomed the sun back from its journey. I developed a much clearer understanding of exactly how quickly we would crash into an ice age if the sun got blocked out by volcanic ash or dust clouds.
Behind us, someone set off fireworks, and caught their house on fire. Black smoke started rising into the sky. Lucky for them, a fire truck was right across the street. I don't know if it was just good fortune, or if they were repeat offenders, but the fire was out quickly. Not before I captured a stunning image of the smoke looming overhead like the angel of death.
It would be hypocritical of me to mock them, so I won't. But we did leave quickly, before the road closed down. I love solar eclipses. Especially with total cloud cover.
