Ask Ellen: What was viewing the Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017 like?
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Great American Solar Eclipse is viewed as a time of unity across the nation. Excitement was high for the Aug. 21, 2017 event.
The shadow of the moon — or the path of totality — began in Oregon, moving to Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and finally ending in South Carolina. It was the first path of totality to cross America from coast to coast since 1918.
Excitement was high and the weather across the nation was generally favorable for mass viewing of the eclipse. Hotels were booked months in advance, with rooms priced double and even triple their original price. Special solar eclipse glasses were selling in droves and groups planned their trips early to secure a spot in the path of totality.
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A group from Grand Rapids decided to journey to Nebraska in hopes of witnessing this potentially once-in-a-lifetime event. Nebraska had some of the most favorable cloud climatology for August, ensuring a better chance at clear skies during the eclipse. If it is cloudy, the phenomenon is blocked. The amateur astronomers and enthusiasts planned for months, taking me and my crew along.
After journeying to Nebraska, it became evident that clouds were likely during the time of the total eclipse. Half of the crew decided to make the last-minute decision to drive through the night to a state park in Wyoming, where the skies were forecast to be completely clear.
Our News 8 crew followed them, arriving to our meeting spot in Wyoming as the partial eclipse was starting to begin. Cars across Wyoming highways were pulled to the side. The town outside the state park, which locals say is home to 2,000, had 40,000 people that day.
There, in the wide open hills of Wyoming, our Grand Rapids group witnessed the eclipse. It was breathtaking, stunning, soul-stirring, primal, and in some ways indescribable. Cheers erupted from the mass of strangers assembled in the hills. The sun was blocked out black, with wisps of light spilling around the perfectly circular edge. The landscape went dark, the birds stopped singing, and the temperature dropped. For minutes, we were entranced in the ethereal beauty of science.
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When the visitors left the park, they left it trash-free. Across America, spectators headed safely back home, and for one shining moment, the country was unified in wonder and reminded how small we each are.
The next total solar eclipse over the United States is April 8.
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