Del Mar College 'solarbrated' the total solar eclipse by hosting a watch party for the community. Many people gathered on Monday to witness the astonishing event.
"It's so exciting, I can't wait to see the sun and the moon kiss," student, Elizabeth Franco said just moments before it all happened.
A dramatic celestial spectacle is what some people are calling it. Solar eclipses occur when the sun, moon, and Earth align. The moon passes between Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking the sun’s light and casting a shadow on Earth. A total solar eclipse is when the moon fully obscures the sun, whereas a partial solar eclipse means it blocks just a portion of the sun’s face.
For one hour and eight minutes, the eclipse darkened skies from Texas to Maine, crossing nearly 15 U.S. states. Those experiencing it at Del Mar's Heritage Campus said despite not being able to see the eclipse in full totality, it's something they didn't want to miss.
"I'm here for the ride and to enjoy the experience," student, Xander Tipton said. "I mean how many times can you witness something like this? When I finally have kids, I hope I can take them to see the next one."
To commemorate the event, Del Mar College provided eclipse sunglasses, out-of-this-world music, and of course, we can't forget about eclipse-theme snacks like Starbursts, Milky Ways, Cosmic Brownies, Capri Suns, and Sunkist soda.
Although we weren't able to see it in its full totality here in the Coastal Bend, the cloudy sky showed a glimpse of a crescent sun as many people saw something like this for the first time.
"The last one we had was 7 years ago and we just wanted to be a part of something that you don't see very often," student, Erica Ortega said.
"I just thought it was kind of cool to see the crescent and then you can kind of see it passing over," faculty member, Linda Webb added.
If you weren't in range of seeing the total solar eclipse, you'll have another chance 20 years from now. The next total solar eclipse isn't expected to happen until 2044.
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