Total Eclipse

So this week, I had a plan - I had the opportunity to see something that NO ONE really gets to see - something that unites people all over the world - something that makes you feel small, but also somehow connected to everyone else on this orb-ish shaped rock rotating around the sun: Sakura - my favorite Japanese restaurant which just reopened about two days ago!

While I was there, I also checked out the eclipse.  So, without adding much science (which I can't do anyway, because math) I will tell you that I have experienced an eclipse before - when I was in elementary school. It wasn't a total eclipse, it was a partial reason for me not to be in a classroom. I stared at a small shadow box that showed a tiny sliver of the sun, partially blocked by the moon.

At the time, my pea brain was barely capable of processing everything that I'd seen. My brain is now hundreds of times more complex and beautiful, and it was equally unable to process the gravity of what was happening.

I arrived in South Carolina the day before, and did a few quick things to keep my brain occupied - it was fun! I enjoyed myself - however, then it came time for the eclipse.

I started watching the weather channel slightly less obsessively than an 80 year old man - I had to go to the bathroom less often, but I recycled my weather app about 90% more.

Because there were clouds. So many clouds.  Not so many clouds that I abandoned all hope, but not so few that I felt like I was going to get a good show. We had some great people, but no promise this would at all be fun.

The eclipse started at about 1:13 PM.  We actually got to see it until about 1:15 PM... and then it was cloudy. One big, annoying, lumbering cloud plodded in front of the sun. Around 1:35 the sun came around. The below image is the last sun we saw:



Then... clouds.



There wasn't much to be done for it it. I sat there, hoping that my 500 mile drive wasn't going to be spoiled by a few random clouds floating around!

But then... salvation! I received a call from Austin Meyer, who was also concerned he wouldn't see the eclipse at all... and decided to hop into an airplane... if I could make it to the airport in 30 minutes.

Austin has a jet powered plane. I'm fairly certain that on a straight on drag race, I would have beat him in my journey to that airport.

Things weren't looking great - there were a ton of clouds and it started to rain on the way there.  Far less than ideal eclipse viewing conditions!

I ushered myself (and my mother who has heard a few stories over the years) into the aircraft, and by 2:30 we were in the air.


Firstly, I must say, the Lancair/Meyer Evolution is THE way to experience an eclipse!



We rocketed up to 17,500 feet and... just paused.  After all the rushing, the pumping blood... we were above the stress, the hurry, and the worry of life and floating in between celestial bodies. It was oddly calm - with the exception of my occasionally terrified mother gripping the back of my seat.





The skies slowly darkened. Austin and I alternated flying the plane (I was 'flying' the plane in so much as I kept us at a nice angle and curve for optimum viewing) and slipped on our INCREDIBLY stylish viewing glasses... and the skies grew darker.

From the sky, we could see clouds in the distance turning orange, we could see blackness coming.

It's strange... it's so bright, you can't see the moon... and yet it suddenly passes right in front of you.

And then we hit totality. As a kid, we only really got a partial eclipse. This was something completely different. The skies darkened, and then, for several minutes, I was able to see, glasses free, the glow of the sun warped by the gravity of the moon. The lights of the city, the stars... It was like nothing I have ever seen before. It went from THIS:



To this:


No stars. No sky. Just a tiny orb  floating in the sky. Brilliant flames of WHITE LIGHT shooting from the darkness of space. And suddenly, you feel tiny. One person on a huge rock. One of MILLIONS of people watching this same stellar event. The day became night.  The world was suddenly different. The stars in the sky were startling, and incredibly beautiful. It was a whole different world.

Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The world became light again, but it really feels like you're on the other side of something.

We slowly drifted back down, the claws of my mother no longer digging into my shoulders, and we came to a landing at a rainy airport.

A few miles out, we were still able to see the beauty of the eclipse through our super stylish glasses, but it was truly a sight to behold.












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