On April 8, North America experienced a total solar eclipse. It traveled over Mexico into the United States and into Canada. The last total solar eclipse occurred in 2021, and was visible in Antarctica. The last total solar eclipse visible to us was in 2017, almost 7 years ago. At ACHS, we had the privilege of being able to see the eclipse during school. The school gave out special glasses the day of the eclipse and near the end of the school day, teachers took their students outside to watch it.
The solar eclipse was visible from most parts of the continent, with it being more present in certain areas than others. Unfortunately, it didn’t affect much in terms of darkening the surrounding area. It was almost hard to notice the area around us getting darker. Nonetheless, it was a very unique experience to witness.
Now, was it worth the school adjusting the day to be able to view it? While the distribution of the special eclipse glasses were nice, I personally don’t think it was worth what we did just to view it. Visibly, nothing looked different other than the moon overlapping the sun. If students wanted to view the eclipse on their own, I think that would have been fine.
Other students seem to share the same sentiment. Sophomore Nahum Seifu said, “Personally I think it was overrated because it wasn’t even close to total, like, it didn’t get that much darker either.” Seifu also said “I think it was a fun event despite it being underwhelming.” when asked if it was worth altering the school day. Sophomore Lucien Andrews also said “It wasn’t as good as I expected it to be,” but also agreed that the eclipse was worth altering the school day.
While some people agree that the eclipse wasn’t that amazing, it was still nice of the school to go out of their way to make sure that we would be able to witness it. I think it was a cool experience and thought it was nice to see it since total solar eclipses happen only every couple of years. The next total solar eclipse visible to North America is all the way in 2044, so if people are looking to see another eclipse, they will have to wait patiently or get a plane ticket to the next total solar eclipse in Greenland, Iceland, or Spain.
