The magic of a solar eclipse

On August 21, 2017 I witnessed my first and likely my last solar eclipse. Of course, I had read about the mystical power of totality.  I came across it for the first time when I was nine or ten reading Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The only thing I remembered from the book was that the time-travelling Yankee got out of a jam by predicting the onset of an eclipse in sixth century Camelot. This saved him from burning at the stake and gave him unprecedented power. I think that probably appealed to me at the time. The triumph of rational thought over myth and magic.  I am a rationalist. If I can’t explain something it is because I don’t have enough data, or at this stage in my life because I can’t remember the data.  I don’t believe in magic. Just the facts ma’am. 

On that day in August, the path of maximum eclipse passed right over us in Oregon. We were prepared with our solar goggles, camera with long lens, and tripod. There was a party atmosphere on the street.

I watched through the viewfinder with interest as the moon’s shadow marched across the face of the sun. 

As the two discs became one, night fell, and within seconds the temperature dropped. A moment or two of complete silence, and then a collective aah from neighbors sounded like a roar. Jack, our dog, started to bark. I had goosebumps. It was a magical and awesome moment I will never forget.