Eclipse Party, Monday, 08-April-2024

Science Building at Texas Tech

What an event!  Not sure how many people showed up, but it was a good thing I did, since the three telescopes "in the field" (in front of the Science building) were busy, busy, busy with lines of people.  I had my trusty AstroTech 4" ED refractor, same setup as the previous October Annular in the Fall, for the TTU Department of Physics and Astronomy's Eclipse viewing.  And this explains what was happening overhead.

Handheld, my daughters caught these photos with their smart phones ...
  
The interesting thing about these two above are the main sunspot area they were able to capture, almost where the PacMan-like sun might have a cartoon "eye" on the solar surface.
They also got these ...
     
  

 

As for the event on the ground, these photos by Venus Bayat captured the moment.  My wife's two photos and 8-second video give a good sense of the day, as well ...
     

We had planned to go east to see the total eclipse, like we'd successfully done in 2017, but events conspired against us, so stayed put.  My wife got the girls out of school to see this, the day before the State of Texas began their STAAR tests, a factor to stay that weighed on us parents.  But a good time was had by all.  A thin veil of clouds prohibited the "crescent suns" we'd seen during the Annular Eclipse in October, and that was disappointing, but this was a unifying experience, imbuing a sense of wonder.  When an eclipse comes to town, show up;  you'll be glad you did.