Dazzling Eclipses Across Realities
The Glitches.VR Collective Recalls Various Types of Eclipse Experiences
I remember long ago that I happened across a book in a local library about solar eclipses, and all the solar eclipses that would occur throughout the world. I noticed that one in particular would go over my state, really close to where I live on the day of my sister's birthday. I left this nugget of knowledge in the back of my mind as a future opportunity to see this with my family.
August 21st, 2017, my sister's birthday: We celebrated early in the morning, as we had a two hour trip ahead of us with just my dad, my sister and myself. Unfortunately my mom was working that day, so she couldn't join us, but with that said, we took the drive and made it to an RV rest stop near an open field right at the area of totality. We met a couple of other families there. They were all very kind, and like us, they were all looking forward to seeing this eclipse. It was 11:36AM, somewhere along that time if I remember. Some time passes, and we start to see that the moon is starting its path to envelop the sun. 30 minutes pass by, and a good portion of the sun is covered and can be seen through solar eclipse shades.
30 minutes before totality: We notice that the daylight is less bright, and the air is a noticeably cooler temperature as well.
25 minutes before totality: I notice a harbinger approaching towards the sun from beyond the horizon: a giant, obscuring cumulus cloud. In my mind, I was hopeful that this cloud would pass over the sun just in time for totality, not realizing what fate had in store for me.
10 minutes before totality: The giant cloud makes its way and engulfs the sun's diminished flare. I think to myself that this should pass, we still have plenty of time.
5 minutes before totality: Only a third of the cloud has passed by. There's not even a hint of dissipation from the cloud itself, the vapor too thick to be able to see anything.
2 minutes before totality: Just as I thought that there was a break in the clouds or a dissipation, it got smothered. Two thirds of the cloud has passed by.
The moment of totality occurs, and twilight engulfs the horizon: Insects, birds, and other forest life react as if it's nightfall. Our ears become flooded with the sounds and screeches of many fauna, likely confused with this false-night vibe. And yet, despite the phenomenal shifts of our surroundings, there's no eclipse in sight. Its cosmic beauty was obscured completely by the cloud. A moment meant for my sister to cherish was slashed away by thousands of pounds of condensed water vapor floating above us.
Totality ends, everything starts to brighten up and the cloud has passed 90 percent of the way. Five minutes after totality was around the time that the cloud had finally passed by. I missed seeing totality that day. It was a day of disappointment, and the next totality would not happen again for another seven years. A fire of hope and opportunity lit up within me that inspired me to seek out and plan ahead for the next eclipse.
On the day of the eclipse in April 2024, feelings of dread swelled up due to weather predictions indicating cloud coverage once again. I was worried that history would repeat itself. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light was my good friend Armani. With his insight and valuable knowledge, he reassured me that there was a good likelihood of us seeing totality despite the forecast being less optimal for observers.
Overall, this latest experience wasn't just to view an amazing, dazzling phenomenon, but also an opportunity that encouraged me to venture beyond my comfort zone. It encouraged me to explore outside of my home state, rendezvous with Armani, and most importantly have a fun and insightful experience that we were fortunate enough to witness.
: Okay, so, I found out about the eclipse a month before my birthday. I was mentioning it at work and then once I saw that it fell on my birthday, I initially decided that I was going to get off work so I could drive to Texas and see this eclipse for a few minutes. But then I sort of realized that, besides the long drive itself, the traffic would have been horrible if I'd gone there, and it was also just too expensive for it to be worth it. So, I decided to stay and watch the eclipse from home.On the day of the eclipse, my family and I were celebrating my birthday together and we all had the eclipse glasses on while we watched from the ground. What was really nice was this calming, shared moment the eclipse created for us as we watched it from our lawn chairs in the backyard.
My nephew also got to watch the eclipse and he enjoyed it, too. The glasses had a nice darkness to them which made the eclipse easy to see. I know some family of mine wanted to see it, but they didn't have the protective glasses, so I was lucky to be able to watch it. Since it was my birthday, I kept saying, "My powers are gonna activate! My powers are gonna activate!" during the eclipse. And they kind of did because I found a four-leaf clover that day, so that's gotta mean super-duper lucky superpowers!
We ended up spending a whole hour outside talking about how the year has been. It almost felt like New Year's Day because this was so rare of an occasion that we got the opportunity to talk about things that don’t come up very often: goals for the next few years, evaluations of how the last few years have been, and so on.
My sister and I are always pretty big on planning our goals for the future. I was able to look back and reflect on everything, and I noticed that everything for me personally has been working really well. I want to continue this growth as I move forward in the years to come. The eclipse was an enjoyable experience. I got to spend time with family and it made me more optimistic about the future.
: My previous experiences with eclipses — both solar and lunar — have amounted to some fun, yet science trivia-esque moments. It’s like seeing rain falling with some sunshine, or an occasional rainbow... except a little cooler. If I imagine an intrigue-o-meter from 0 to 10, the lunar eclipses have been in the 7-8 range. (Ah, that's cool! The moon's red!… Sometimes not worth waking up to see when you've seen it.) The partial solar eclipse have been in the 9-9.5 range. (Ooh, you can see the crescent sun shadows under the plants, and the sky's weirdly dark! 🤔)Experiencing a total solar eclipse under the path of 100 percent totality (not just 95-99 percent) is, in my opinion, somewhat beyond words. (Certainly beyond the intrigue-o-meter! 😂) I can describe the natural phenomenon to the best of my ability here and still miss the feeling of the moment… Moments like the onset of totality where you can see the darkness of the moon's umbra moving across the horizon, and feel the temperature falling in the course of minutes as you look at the sun and moon with your own unfiltered eyes. Or, in our case on April 8th, 2024, the suspense of the partly cloudy sky that could have blocked our view, yet mercifully dissipated just enough and just in time to get a clearer view of the sun's corona.
Going to see a total solar eclipse was certainly worth the travel and the time set aside for just over four minutes of what's aptly described by Great American Eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler as “the most beautiful sight you can see in nature!” You really must get 100 percent into the path of totality and set time aside, not only to get pictures of the eclipse as it happens, but also to put your phone/camera down to take the moment in. No matter what, seeing your first eclipse of this kind will leave you wanting to experience it again. You will want to travel again for it, like the many international eclipse chasers who share the same feeling of natural awe and wonder.
: I believe that after witnessing this eclipse in all its glory, VR can visually simulate the phenomenon quite closely to the real deal, but not fully. There are subtle details in real life that would prove very difficult to replicate in a VR environment. More to say on this in a future article...