Nobody eclipses my Mom!

Happy Mother’s Day! I apologize for the cheesy pun in this blog post title, but bear with me as I recall a very special trip spent with my wonderful Mom and two of my children. And… of course this statement is true!

As a certified astronomy geek and slightly very obsessive family trip planner, I could not wait to drive hundreds of miles to witness The Great American Eclipse of 2017. I considered this to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a total solar eclipse, even though I knew there will be another (even better) total solar eclipse in April 2024, The Greater American Eclipse of 2024.

I was disappointed that my Dad (who was in a nursing home), as well as my wife Cindy and eldest son Jacob (both of whom were in class), could not join us on the trip, but I was thrilled that I would get to share this exciting time with my Mom, my daughter Katie, and my youngest son, Luke.

Oklahoma City to Potosi, Missouri

Our trip began on the afternoon of Sunday, August 20, 2017, as Katie, Luke, Mom and I drove for hours to a small town southwest of St. Louis for our hotel in Salem, Missouri. This town was not in the path of totality but within about 1.5 hours of a town called Potosi, Missouri, which was off the beaten path of eclipse-watchers but close enough to the center of the totality path to provide about 2 minutes and 13 seconds of totality. Originally I planned to make the much shorter drive to near Kansas City, but at the last minute I changed our hotel because the weather prediction called for clouds and possibly rain during the eclipse. I am so glad we were able to find a hotel near the path of totality. We were treated to a great view of the eclipse in a nice city park in this small town.

Partial Eclipse

Leading up to the totality was like other partial solar eclipses I have witnessed. The partly cloudy sky and surrounding park were slightly dimmed at first, and we got a reprieve from some of the hot weather as more and more of the sun was covered by the moon. We all enjoyed taking a peek from time to time during the early eclipse, wearing our glasses carefully of course. Otherwise, we hung out in the shade or in the running car with A/C on this hot day.

Within a few minutes of the totality, the dimness increased to the point of being very odd. I showed everyone the crecent shaped shadows on the ground, as the light shining through the leaves (and our fingers) emulated “pinhole cameras”. Then the rapidity of the approaching darkness was striking as the totality began. The sky above was not pitch black, but rather like 20-30 minutes after sunset. On the horizon it looked like a strange sunset.

Totality

During the first few seconds of totality, I was messing with my camera and laptop. Beforehand, I had programmed a sequence of shots into the computer, which triggered my camera’s shutter using different exposure settings which I found on the internet. The settings were designed to capture different parts of the totality. It worked perfectly.

When I finally got the computer sequence started, I looked up and was blown away by how beautiful and surreal the view was. I’m struggling to describe it in words, but it almost seemed like the moon was a very large, black marble in the sky blocking out the sun. It looked slightly three-dimensional to me. Around it we could see the brightness of the sun’s outer atmosphere - the corona. The shape of the corona is affected by the sun’s magnetic field, and in the photos you can see interesting line patterns caused by it.

Part of my planning included an app on my phone which prompted us about the totality based on our GPS location. That was very handy because it warns you when to put the glasses back on. After just two minutes and 13 seconds, we were warned to wear our glasses and, sadly, the totality was over. The surroundings brightened very rapidly, and it was starting to look more normal again.

Although the eclipse ended quickly, our thoughts of this shared adventure lingered for much longer. It was such a moving and emotional experience, unlike any other. I recall that the beauty of totality moved my Mom and me to tears. We shared an amazing moment which I will never forget. I continue to cherish my memories of this time with my Mom and children, chasing The Great American Eclipse.

Nobody eclipses my Mom!