Once-in-a-century solar eclipse viewed on campus

“Don’t look directly at the sun!” The warning rang across the quad as students viewed the total solar eclipse that occurred on Aug. 21, the first in 99 years to span the United States from coast to coast.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Earth, moon and sun line up, and the moon fully obscures the sun.

Although Saratoga was outside the path of totality, defined as areas where it is possible to see the moon completely covering the sun’s corona, for the Aug. 21 eclipse, the high school was still able to view a partial eclipse.

The eclipse began at 9:01 a.m. and reached its peak at 10:15 a.m., obscuring a total of 79 percent of the sun.

The Environmental and Science Clubs hosted a viewing session in Hyde Park. Club officers brought special glasses, as well as homemade viewing devices such as aluminum-covered cereal boxes and chip containers to view the eclipse.

In addition, the science department provided glasses to dozens of students in the quad, and the Leadership class provided index cards with pinholes.

Projections of the eclipse were also visible in the shadows cast by trees. The tiny gaps in between leaves acted as pinhole lenses, projecting crescent shaped images of the eclipsed sun onto the world below.

Some students and faculty members also traveled off campus to watch the solar eclipse. Senior Nate Wire, who viewed the totality from Madras, Ore., called it the “beautiful, eerie and even spiritual.” According to Wire, it was well worth the 20 hour drive.

Physics teacher Kirk Davis also traveled back to his hometown of Casper, Wyo., to watch the eclipse with his family. They were able to view the eclipse in full totality for approximately 2 minutes.

“It was like a 360-degree sunset, so it looked like either sunset or sunrise depending on your view of life,” Davis said.

The next total solar eclipse visible from North America is scheduled to occur April 8, 2024, about three years after the current freshman class graduates.