Life seemed to come to a halt in a strip of the United States on Monday afternoon as people breathlessly looked to the sky.
Despite all of humanity’s business on Earth, the solar system and its unstoppable cosmic forces stole the show as folks paused from their jobs, from school, and from normal life in general to watch the solar eclipse as it crossed their sky.
Lawn chairs, telescopes and cameras popped up in yards, parks and roadsides as people gathered with family and friends to see the event.
Clouds drifting across much of the Oil Region made for a dodgy viewing experience for many, and in some places clouds obscured the sun during maximum coverage, though the area was still plunged into darkness and street lights came on at the darkest point of the eclipse.
But at Hasbrouck Park in Hydetown, just north of Titusville, a large cloud that had covered the moon just minutes before totality drifted aside in the nick of time to reveal the last of the sun disappearing behind the black circle of the moon.
Exclamations, gasps and applause broke out as the park was suddenly sunk into deep twilight and the long-awaited ring of light flared overhead. One after another, eclipse glasses came off faces all over the park.
The planet Venus, variously known as the “morning star” or the “evening star” for its frequent visibility near the sun during the hours of sunrise and twilight, came out in the middle of the afternoon, a bright point of light to the lower right of the sun.
A dark sky faded to a band of pale orange and pink around the horizon.
At the very beginning and end of totality, shining “diamonds” of light known as “Baily’s beads” glimmered along the edges of the moon as the moon’s rugged, cratered surface allowed a few rays of sunlight to peer around its edges.
Then, a crescent of sun appeared again on the other side of the moon, instantly bringing the world from deep twilight back to a cloudy Monday afternoon.
“Someone turned the lights back on,” exclaimed onlooker Laura McAlevy as observers collectively caught their breath.
The Oil Region drew observers from places as far as Harrisburg, Maryland and Colorado. Some were eclipse veterans, some who had never seen an eclipse before, and many were seeking to avoid the crowds and high prices in larger cities.
“We came here rather than going to Erie,” said Chris Penrod of Punxsutawney, who was set up in Hasbrouck Park with a pair of binoculars fitted with solar lenses.
Science teacher Faith Peluso of Harrisburg said she “ditched class” to come up and watch the eclipse with her family, and the event had been on their calendar for four years.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said.
At the Oil Region Astronomy Learning Center, which held an eclipse program Sunday into Monday, more than 150 people gathered Monday afternoon to learn about the eclipse and view it as it reached 99.6 percent totality.
Tim Spuck, a board member and one of the founders of the Oil Region Astronomical Society that owns the center, and who gave an eclipse presentation at the event, said he had seen two total eclipses before.
“One from Chile, and one from Wyoming, and both were amazing,” he said. “It’s an absolutely awesome event.”
“It’s been a really fun experience,” said Cindy Fultz of Oil City. “They’re doing a fabulous job here. There was a presentation, and lots of materials.”
Her husband Frank said it was the first time he had ever seen an eclipse.
“It’s amazing,” he said.
