Crowds cheer as ‘ring of fire’ eclipse moves across the Americas
ALBUQUERQUE — First came the darkening skies, then the crescent-shaped shadows on the ground, and finally an eruption of cheers by crowds that gathered Saturday along the narrow path of a rare “ring of fire” eclipse of the sun.
It was a spectacular show for some parts of the western United States as the moon moved into place and the ring formed.
There were hoots, hollers, and yelps for those with an unfettered view in Albuquerque, where the celestial event coincided with an international balloon fiesta that typically draws tens of thousands of spectators and hundreds of hot air balloon pilots from around the world.
They got a double treat, with balloons lifting off during a mass ascension shortly after dawn and then the eclipse a couple hours later. Organizers had 80,000 pairs of view glasses on hand for the massive crowd and some pilots used their propane burners to shoot flames upward in unison as the spectacle unfolded.
Allan Hahn of Aurora, Colo., has attended the festival for 34 years, first as a crew member and then as a licensed balloon pilot. His balloon, Heaven Bound Too, was one of 72 selected for a special “glow” performance as skies darkened.
“It’s very exciting to be here and have the convergence of our love of flying with something very natural like an eclipse,” he said.
Unlike a total solar eclipse, the moon doesn’t completely cover the sun during a ring of fire eclipse. When the moon lines up between Earth and the sun, it leaves a bright, blazing border.
Saturday’s path: Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, with a sliver of California, Arizona, and Colorado. Next: Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil. Much of the rest of the Western Hemisphere got a partial eclipse.
Viewing depended on clear skies — part of the US path was to see clouds. NASA and other groups livestreamed it.
The event brought eclipse watchers from around the United States to remote corners of the country to try to get the best view possible. At Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah tiny lights could be seen along a well known trail that snakes through a valley of red rock hoodoos as eclipse enthusiasts hit the trail before sunrise to stake out their preferred spots in nooks and crannies along the way.
With the ring of fire in full form, cheers echoed through the canyons of the park as if the home team just hit a home run.
“I just think it’s one of those things that unites us all,” said John Edwards, a cancer drug developer who traveled alone across the country to try to watch the eclipse from Bryce Canyon. “I just think it’s seeing these unique experiences that come rarely is what got me here. This is about as rare as it gets.”
Kirby James and Caroline McGuire from Toronto didn’t realize they would be in a prime spot to watch the eclipse when they planned their trip to southern Utah.
“Nothing that you can read could prepare you for how it feels,” said Kirby James, 63, a cofounder of a software company. “It’s the moment, especially when the ring of fire came on, you realized you were having a lifetime experience.”
For the small towns and cities along the path, there was a mix of excitement, worries about the weather, and concerns they’d be overwhelmed by visitors flocking to see the annular solar eclipse.
As totality began in Eugene, Ore., oohs and ahs combined with groans of disappointment as the eclipse was intermittently visible, the sun’s light poking through the cloud cover from behind the moon only at times.
Koren Marsh and her parents drove five hours from Seattle to be within the path of the eclipse. Making the trip to see the ring of fire was part of the celebrations for her 16th birthday. Despite the poor viewing weather, she said it was still cool to witness totality as it peeked between the clouds.
“I’m underwhelmed but I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed,” she said. “It was worth it to me because I like science.”
Viewers on the East Coast were prepared to see less of the event — close to a quarter eclipse around midday in some areas, such as New York City — but were nonetheless geared up to watch the skies. In Maine, viewers expected to see only about 12 percent of the sun covered, but the Clark Telescope on the grounds of the University of Maine was open to the public.
“As the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, it casts its shadow on our planet. In a very real sense, solar eclipses are ‘made in the shade’ of the moon,” said Shawn Laatsch, director of the Versant Power Astronomy and the Maynard Jordan Planetarium.
The entire eclipse — from the moment the moon started to obscure the sun until back to normal — was 2½ to 3 hours at any given spot. The ring of fire portion lasted from three to five minutes, depending on location.
Next April, a total solar eclipse will crisscross the United States in the opposite direction. That one will begin in Mexico and go from Texas to New England before ending in eastern Canada.