The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. [Acts 2:20] Actually instead of doom and gloom, 8 April 2024 proved to be a surreal, awesome, joyful and even life-changing day for many who had watched as the eclipse unfolded with anticipation, excitement and awe.

Since 21 August 2017 when our area (the NYC metro region) experienced a partial solar eclipse, Don and I had resolved to see totality in a solar eclipse set for 2024. Not even the pandemic or early estimates of cloudy, unfavorable conditions could deter us from chasing the holy grail of eclipses. At the start of this year, Buffalo, NY our original intended destination was out of the question. Two weeks prior, we planned to go to Watertown, NY but that changed in a day when the forecast changed. Then we planned to go to Plattsburgh, NY but again when the forecast included clouds, we picked our final location 48 hours before the eclipse – Moose River/Jackman, Maine, a trip that would add 2 ½ hours to the commute each way. With the promise of clear skies and totality of 3:27 (totality began at 15:29:29; maximum eclipse 15:31:13; totality ended at 15:32:56) it was the ideal location.

We then departed right after the IGA (Ipernity General Assembly) and drove non-stop other than to get gas at one stop in Portland, Maine and arrived to Moose River/Jackman at about 12:44 AM. By then we knew we would have to spend the night in our car in 25° F/ -4° C temperatures and parked in the parking lot of St. Faustina Church. There were no hotels or motels in this tiny community of 226 and every distant hotel (37 miles away and further) were fully booked. Consequently, others did the same and soon we noticed cars parked along the street also consisted of people waiting for the eclipse. In fact thousands spent the night in their cars in parking lots and streets not wanting to risk the morning grid lock traffic, which proved to be the correct approach as one person whom Don knew, had the misfortune of finding a hotel room 20 miles out from the location where he planned to watch the solar eclipse. He never made it to totality, trapped with thousands in standstill traffic, calling it the “worst mistake of his life.”

In any event, since we did not choose to sleep in such cold temperatures, we scouted locations during the night and found an open cemetery with few trees – St. Anthony’s Cemetery, where we decided we would watch the eclipse. With an open area that included a large field across the street, we determined it was the ideal spot especially since at this time no one had discovered it giving us the best chance of taking great photos without crowd interference.

After a 5:00 AM breakfast, we parked along side the cemetery to await the eclipse that would begin some nine hours later. As we waited, someone discovered us and also selected this location. Soon others joined, but the crowd never grew to more than 100 giving all prime photo opportunities. At the same time, the tiny town bustled with activity enraptured by a festive atmosphere. The streets were packed while vendors sold merchandise and souvenirs outdoors. Schools dismissed early and businesses shut down for the eclipse.

It was actually nice to see people from all over the country were united for a common purpose. It was also nice to see the moment provided a welcome respite from the USA’s partisan politics and the world’s pressing problems – violence, war and climate change.

Before the eclipse, we tested the solar lenses we had purchased that were supposedly a necessity – a waste of $35. They provided no use and so we resolved not to use them. After researching the settings used by an Associated Press photographer who had captured solar eclipses we settled on shutter speed of 1/500 with an ISO setting of 800.

Around 9:00 AM clouds began to appear from the west. Yet despite the cloud scare, we weren’t concerned since a weather model indicated they would dissipate within three hours. By noon the sky was completely clear and remained that way for the duration of the solar eclipse.

When the solar eclipse began with the moon shrouding out a tiny speck of the sun from its bottom right side, everyone grew quiet. People watched and took photographs in silence for over an hour as the sun gradually disappeared behind the moon. When about 90% of the sun was eclipsed, its light became dimmer. When between 98%-99% of the sun was eclipsed, it was noticeably dim with Venus appearing in the darkened sky. And then when the moon slid over the rest of the sun, the whole area was plunged into darkness as the community launched distant fireworks to celebrate the moment.

During totality that lasted for 3 minutes 26 seconds, the temperature that had been a mild 58° F/ -14.44° C fell between 6-10° F / 3.33-5.55° C from intense radiational cooling plunging the area into a noticeable chill. At the same time, the sound of birds and other wildlife fell silent as a pair of birds circled overhead in the dark sky, perhaps confused by the sudden darkness.

It was during totality as the sun’s corona shimmered like a halo around the dark moon, the phenomena put our very existence into perspective – we are even smaller than the “pale blue dot” taken on 14 February 1990 by Voyager 1 when it was 3.5 billion miles from the Earth. In reality, we are tiny and inconsequential compared to the vast universes and their workings. Perhaps this revelation was the most life-changing moment for many.

At the same time, during totality, while the sky turned dark, it did not turn black because of the solar maximum. Had it been a solar minimum, the sky would have been black. In addition, because of the solar maximum, spectators were treated to solar prominence – a bit of orange beneath the moon as well as a thin violet/blue halo around parts of the dark moon known as the Purkinje effect as maximum totality approached.

When totality ended, which seemed sudden and unexpected, immediately casting the area into brightness, the crowd applauded. While some left having seen totality, others remained for the closing act.

Afterwards, traffic was horrendous – it took nearly nine hours to travel 58 miles from the one-lane road from Moose River/Jackman to larger towns and nearly 12 hours to reach Portland, Maine where we were fortunate enough to find a hotel room at Fireside Inn – all because they did the decent thing and cleared rooms when booked guests did not show up by midnight. We did not want to camp out at the side the street like thousands did since then we would be caught in the same traffic nightmare at daylight.

Nevertheless in spite the adversity and challenges, the trip was well worth it. Having seen the holy grail of eclipses is an experience that will last a lifetime and thus knowing everything now, Don and I would do the same thing all over again since it beats flying out west (2044), hoping to live well over 100 (2079) or traveling around the world (years in between). Therefore for us, with every objective met – a venue with clear skies (the biggest challenge when chasing a solar eclipse), a quality viewing site, and photographing totality, the trip was an overwhelming success.

Finally, if given the chance, everyone should experience a total solar eclipse once in their life since it is an unforgettable spectacle that no form of virtual media can provide the full interactive and even spiritual experience.