On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America experienced a partial or total solar eclipse. The path of totality tracked from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast of the United States.
I decided to make a trip into the path of totality, selecting a remote but accessible location to experience this rare celestial event. After studying map after map along the path, I zeroed in on a location not far from Omaha, Nebraska.
Using google maps, I was able to find a small public preserve located within the vast Nebraska wheat fields (Not far from a town called Pawnee. Shoutout to Parks and Recreation).
On Sunday evening I flew into the Omaha Eppley airport, rented a large car, and made my way out to Mayberry Wildlife Managememt Area (shoutout this time to Andy Griffith).
I spent the night in the back of the SUV, I never saw another vehicle or person. There were LOTS of field mice running around.
Dawn broke he next morning, Monday August 21, 2017 with rosy fingers and unsettled weather. The area was breathtaking.
The eclipse was predicted to begin about 11:38 am, and over the course of 3 hours reach totality and then return to full sun.
Totality would begin about 1:03 pm, reach maximum darkness a minute later, and leave totality about 1 minute after that. The total eclipse would last about 3 minutes.
I found a quiet field next to a lake in the middle of the preserve, set up a comfortable chair, and enjoyed the serenity. There were thunderstorm throughout the day, and I had to leave it to fate that the skies would be clear during the 3 minute window.
I had only an iPhone with me, so my ability to take photos of the was sun limited. The eclipse began right on schedule...
Using the viewing glasses I brought, I would check the progress from time to time. Here is one of the most interesting observations/realizations I had.
The sun is powerful. The amount of energy it puts out is mind boggling. As the moon slowly drifted across the face of the sun, I could clearly see the crescent across the suns face using my glasses. But without glasses; looking at the surrounding preserve there was no noticeable difference. When the sun was halfway covered I expected the countryside to appear dim. It did not. You would not have noticed anything at all if you had not known there was an eclipse in progress.
Eventually the moon progressed to the point just before totality. Looking through the glasses showed just the tiniest fingernail sliver of sun still visible. And yet the landscape around me still looked like daytime, with perhaps the slightest overcast pall. The energy from a sliver of sun - perhaps 1% showing and 99% covered - still flooded the world in daylight.
Then the moon edged out that last tiny splinter of sun. It was like a light switch was tuned off. It was that dramatic. That instantaneous. Suddenly it was night. It was not just the light that the last glimpse of the sun was emitting. The temperature dropped immediately. When that last little section of sun was no longer warming the earth around me, the temperature seemed to drop 20 degrees. A wind kicked up, somehow stirred by the sudden change in temperature.
Birds began chirping and flying to and fro, seeming confused and alarmed about what they should be doing or where they should go.