Joyce and I saw the April 8th, 2024 total solar eclipse from Westlake, Ohio (just west of Cleveland). The weather was good so we watched from our hotel parking lot. There were some high thin clouds which washed out totality a bit but it was still a spectacular experience.
The sun just before the eclipse. Several sunspot groups are visible. The time was 1355 EDT.
The eclipse started with a partial phase.
The moon's shadow early in the partial phase. The time was 1411 EDT.
Partial eclipse at 1442 EDT.
Partial eclipse at 1504 EDT.
Totality!
The start of totality. This is called second contact. The time was 1513 EDT. The last bright spot of the sun creates a diamond ring effect.
Just after the start of totality. Several prominences are visible along the edge of the sun. The time was 1513 EDT.
A better view of the prominences during totality. The time was 1514 EDT.
This is the same photo as above but processed to better show the corona. The time was 1514 EDT.
The eclipse ended with another partial phase as the moon's shadow moved off of the sun.
Partial eclipse shortly after totality ended. The time was 1518 EDT.
Partial eclipse at 1534 EDT.
Partial eclipse at 1601 EDT.
Nearing the end of the partial phase at 1618 EDT.
We saw a ring around the sun during the first part of the partial phase. This was caused by the high thin clouds overhead at the time. This was at 1443 EDT.
I made a video of our observing site showing the periods just before, during, and just after totality. The street lights came on and some sort of annoying alarm went off during totality. Looking back, we should have chosen a site without streetlights and alarms. Still, this shows how dark it got and how quickly totality happened and then ended. The video is 4:54 long.
