‘SPECTACULAR AND MIND-BLOWING’
Rare solar eclipse captivates thousands in Michigan
Time seemed to stand still Monday afternoon along a swath of the country as the moon crossed in front of the sun for a rare total solar eclipse. It’s a sight that won’t be seen again for 20 years.
Across southeast Michigan and beyond, thousands gathered at museums, parks, piers and stadiums to watch until the moon and sun aligned. Some looked through telescopes, others wore simple eclipse glasses, marveling at the historic sight.
In Luna Pier in Monroe crowds cheered and clapped as it reached totality. It looked like dusk and the temperature was noticeably cooler.
“It was so spectacular and mind-blowing,” said Kristina Brady, 40, of Whitmore Lake, who was in Luna Pier to watch. “It was everything I wanted it to be. I just wished it last longer.”
Many traveled with loved ones or kids to see the rare event, including Michelle Baker of Troy. She brought her daughter to the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills to watch.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and sometimes you just have to make your way to it,” said Baker.
As just a sliver of the sun was viewable behind the moon around 3:13 p.m., “it’s like the tip of a baby’s fingernail,” she said.
In Detroit, hundreds gathered along the riverfront to watch the eclipse, which had 99% totality by 3:14 p.m. Families came along with professionals, stepping away for a lunch break. Some cheered as it ended.
Syreeta Farria, 42, watched from the riverfront with her children. It was Farria’s first time experiencing one in person, and she
thought it was cool and surprising.
“I homeschool my kids, and we’ve been studying and watching videos about it, but I still wasn’t prepared,” Farria said. “I was struck by how dark and cold it got, and also how quick the whole thing was. I know it takes almost a month for the moon to do its whole cycle, so I thought it would be a little slower.”
Andrea Grace of Detroit hoped the eclipse inspired more people to get into science. She set up her chair right along the Detroit River early Monday to ensure an unobstructed view.
“I remember the last one in 2017, and that was cool. I watched it from my roof,” Grace, 63, said. “I figured this time I needed to do a little more — I’m not so sure I’ll be around for the next one, or at least I’ll be 83, so I figured it it was time to do it right.”
Only a small sliver of Michigan in Monroe County was in the eclipse’s path of totality but that didn’t stop hundreds from driving to communities such as Luna Pier to see the rare site. Michigan was one of 16 states along the eclipse’s path.
As the eclipse reached totality around 3:12 p.m., some were surprised. Some took off their glasses, others cheered. There was an orange glow on the horizon as if it was sunset.
Watching the sun disappear
At the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills, Tulika Gherpure, a first-grader at Eastover Elementary, watched with excitement. She wore a purple T-shirt with sparkly stars and planets on it for the occasion
“It’s my first time. I’m excited,” said the 7-year-old, adding that she watched some videos ahead of today’s event to educate herself. “The eclipse is really cool.”
As the moon slowly passed in front of the sun Monday afternoon, some people were not impressed.
“Usually I am not allowed to look at the sun, but today I am allowed to look at it a little bit, said Bryce Jacobs, 6. “I am looking at it right now and I thought it would be cooler.”
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do this with my grandson,” said Derek Moss of Canton, who was at Cranbrook early Monday afternoon with his 6-yearold grandson, Thorin Blomberg, who knew all about different types of eclipses.
“The next time this happens I’ll be 81,” said Blomberg, as he took a break from viewing an evolution exhibit.
At Luna Pier, Kathy Neefe, a retired nurse from Warren, gathered with her son, Robert Neefe, and grand-niece, Aliesa McKnight, to watch the eclipse. They traveled to Kentucky for the 2017 total solar eclipse. Neefe said they watched that one from a horse farm.
“When the eclipse was total, the biggest bugs I’ve ever seen in my life came out in Kentucky,” she said, “because they thought it was night.”
This time, they spent Sunday night at a hotel in Monroe and then reached Luna Pier soon before 10 a.m. Monday. They were sitting in lawn chairs in a grassy area behind the Luna Pier beach late Monday morning where hundreds of eclipse-viewers had gathered.
“I’m excited,” Neefe said. “I’m feeling very good.”
McKnight, 21, of Gladwin County said she was a little younger during the last total solar eclipse, so her memory “was not as permanent as what it’s going to be now.”
“So I wanted to try to get a chance to, you know, this time get it into memory,” she said.
At Cranbrook, Bill Else of Waterford was one of the volunteers putting the rare event into context for visitors, educating them about eclipses, comets and all sorts of celestial happenings.
“People ask how can the moon cover the sun, the sun is 400 times bigger than the moon.” he said from his information table filled with pictures and information, adding that the moon is 400 times closer to Earth than the sun.
Ken Heilig of the Warren Astrological Society had set up a large, lithium battery-powered telescope in Cranbrook’s science garden around 11 a.m. and was letting interested observers view the sun ahead of the eclipse. With a protective solar screen on the lens, the sun looked like a big bright ball and one dark sunspot was visible.
“At quarter after three it’s going to be as good as it’s going to get, and that’s about 98%,” he said. “The sun is all the moon has to reflect, it doesn’t give off any of its own light so it has to be in a new moon phase when it comes in front of the sun.”