The solar eclipse is one of the biggest mysteries to me and most of the people I know. While there are experts who know why it happens, when it happens, and truly just what happens. There are still me and my friends and I'm sure many more people who don't know any of that. So when April 8, 2024 rolled around and the solar eclipse was happening, I had to roll my sister out of bed and convince her to come out and watch it with me. She bombarded me with questions which while trying to sound knowledgeable on what I was talking about, I still couldn't quite understand how such small differences like .13 and .05 made the sky look just a bit more overcast than any normal day. So while this isn't the most traditional excursion, I definitely learned a lot about the total solar eclipse and mother earth was the presenter.
The main focus however throughout the entire experience was how totality works and how even the smallest percentage off of a pure 100 can change how different areas get different levels of totality. Normally we think to round .99 to 1 because it is so close to 1 that it might very well be. However, .99 in eclipse terms cant be approached the same way. To put that into better perspective I came across an analogy from a while back that encapsulates the difference perfectly; imagine driving 99% of the way to Disneyland with your kids, then turning around and driving back home. You saw and got to Disneyland, yet did not experience Disneyland like going in and riding the rides and eating the food. Experiencing 99% totality is still an incredible experience and yet the eclipse glasses stay on and light is still shining through since a sliver of sun is still uncovered. The .01% of sun that is uncovered allows light to shine through, the .03% allows it, so does the .05, 06, and .13 that we in College Park experienced. Though I think we were all expecting it to still be quite light out here.
When the eclipse occurred, my sister, my friend, and myself were sharing one pair of eclipse glasses which we quickly would pass back and forth so you could say I only saw 33% of the eclipse. When the eclipse reached the predicted 87% totality it did get briskier outside, and darker although the darker really could be chalked up to a cloud passing over the sun. Viewing the eclipse with the eclipse glasses however, made the experience what it was, which was phenomenal. Being able to see history be made in its tracks, experience it with my people, and truly view the first eclipse I’ll see in my life for probably a long time was a more perfect experience than I could have thought up. Knowing what I know now, I’d 100% travel to the path of totality the next time around though.