My Son's Picture From Yesterday's Eclipse & More Eclipse Pictures

The eclipse yesterday is still on my mind a bit, admittedly.

There were weather reports that the clouds would be coming in the later on it got. Sure enough, the clouds kept coming in, and by about 4pm, we could no longer even see the sun, with or without the glasses. Still, the best part of the eclipse, including the peak, we got to view. So that was good. Also, much like in 2017, my son and I got to experience and see this together. I feel incredibly blessed, and am grateful for things such as this. 

That, plus the earthquake just a few days ago. Probably might not impress people from California or Alaska, but since New Jersey rarely ever gets serious earthquakes, it was a most unusual, and thus, very noteworthy event. I was actually quite glad to have experienced both the non-lethal earthquake and the solar eclipse within just four or so days of one another. Exciting stuff that spiced life up a bit for the past few days here.

My son seemed to take a bunch of pictures yesterday. Evidently, they were not to his liking, and this one was the only one which he said he actually took.

So I asked him to share them with me, and it seemed fitting to share it here, as well. 

Here is an enlarged one. 

Enjoy.

Then, these were the pictures from my camera (the most dramatic of which was actually taken by my son, I should note). These I published here yesterday:

Here are the best pictures that I managed to take of the solar eclipse:

Here is the post from the previous solar eclipse, which I originally published on August 22, 2017, the day after the eclipse. We were watching at a public viewing on the lawn of the Kinnelon Public Library. My son looks so much younger, even though this day really does not feel all that long ago. I noticed from these pictures that we were using the same exact pair of solar eclipse glasses then that I used for the viewing yesterday. That said, my ex and my son managed to get two new glasses (one for each of them) for this solar eclipse viewing, so we each had our own pair of solar eclipse glasses with which to view this spectacular event. 

Anyway, here was the original post from the solar eclipse of August, 2017:

The Solar Eclipse of 2017 - August 21, 2017

(originally published on August 22, 2017)

A lot is happening in the world right now, but today, the only topic that seems fitting was the solar eclipse. It was the big event for most of us today, and like many people, I revolved my day around that.

After getting off from work earlier in the day, I drove and went looking for eclipse glasses (obviously late). They were sold out - everyone seemed to be out of glasses. 

Damn! 

By that point, I was cursing my own stupidity, wondering why I had not managed to obtain a pair of eclipse glasses well before the day of.

Yet, one lady at the Target that I went to mentioned that nearby Kinnelon Library was having a viewing party, and would be handing out glasses, so long as viewers remained on the premises. It sounded good to me, so I decided to take a chance and take my son and I there, so we could hopefully view this truly historical event.

The last time that there was a total eclipse on the American mainland (or the lower 48), was back in the late 1970's. And the last time that a total eclipse stretched across the United States was over a century ago!

So clearly, this was not an event to be missed, or to be taken lightly. Going to Kinnelon with the hopes that we could make good on actually seeing the eclipse was a priority. The good news is at the end of the event, I was glad to have taken the chance and gone. First of all, as the librarian in charge suggested, going to see a Solar Viewing Party, as they called it, added a special element to it. You are doing something with a community of people present, which enhances how significant and unique the event felt. Also, they were equipped, and we wound up with a pair of viewing glasses within a minute or two of the main part of the eclipse, as people left surprisingly early!

We got to see a good amount of the eclipse, and it was indeed spectacular! My son really enjoyed it, and I heard a lot of people talking about how cool it was to see it. Still, even while most of the sun was still blotted out by the moon, yet a lot of people left in drove, within minutes of the peak. Before 3pm, we were among the few people left on the green lawn of the library, which was a surprising turn of events. Again, this happens only so often, so why were people in such a rush to leave?

My son and I stayed for quite some time, until almost 4pm, when it was supposed to end. By the time that there was just a tiny sliver left, we decided to go. By then, there were just two people left, and they had been staring up at the eclipse without a break. I had made sure to use the so-called 20-20-20 rule, which is that you can only view the eclipse for no longer than 20 seconds, then you need to look away for 20 seconds, and then you focus on something to give your eyes a break for another 20 seconds. That was the way that we were doing it, and the way that experts talking about it on the radio kept insisting was the safest way. But those two people kept on staring, without a break, which surprised and somewhat alarmed me. I mentioned how it was recommended not to stare longer than 20 seconds within their earshot, although they did not budge.

By around 3:30 or so, a woman suddenly came, with two boys (presumably her son). They wanted to see, and so we lent them the glasses, which they seemed appreciative of. They, too, were also amazed at the eclipse, and it was again a pleasure to feel like we were together, enjoying something bigger than ourselves.

In any case, it was something to see, and I am so glad that my son and I got to see it together! So, on this day, I feel blessed, and thought I would share both my own experiences, with pictures, as well as some other relevant information regarding eclipses.

These were the best shots that I had from my cell phone camera. We just put the darkened lenses from the glasses over the camera lens, and took a few pics. They came out fairly nicely, especially the top one!

Above - Here I am, looking up during the eclipse, while below, my son gives me the thumbs up, showing that he sees and likes what he sees.