The solar eclipse was this past weekend, on April 8th. I initially heard of this total eclipse in 2022 and was excited because it would pass right over Texas. It was two years too early to plan a trip. However, I kept the date on my calendar. In the meantime, I was able to have a practice round in 2023. In 2023, I viewed the annular eclipse at the NASA-Johnson Space Center open house. The eclipse was partial, and while it was amazing to see, it does not compare to a total eclipse. This planted the seed for my desire to observe a total eclipse.

 In the weeks leading up to the eclipse, I began to plan a trip to Austin, Texas, and stay with my cousin to view the eclipse. I traveled to Austin to see the eclipse because I wanted a guaranteed view of totality. I only had a few logistics figured out when taking this trip. I had never driven this far, from Houston to Austin, a 167-mile drive there. I knew I would be in Austin during the eclipse and stay with my cousin before I drove back, but I hadn't planned the viewing. The drive to Austin was beautiful; I had never seen so many fields of bluebonnets and long horns, and every thirty minutes, a new little town came to drive through. The scenery heightened my anticipation of the eclipse. When I arrived, I saw some differences between Houston and Austin. The amount of greenery in Austin starkly contrasts what I am used to seeing in Houston. I am so accustomed to seeing flattened, deforested areas that I was surprised to see fields full of natural grasses, trees, and wildflowers.

 I was expecting to view the eclipse from the street of my cousin's house, and I would have been satisfied. Thankfully, my cousin was the right person to ask. During the previous partial annular eclipse in Houston, my cousin drove to San Antonio to view the eclipse and photograph the ring of fire. For this eclipse, she found us an excellent spot for viewing, a ranch northeast of Austin. I am not sure of the details, but a weatherman promoted viewing at this location because clouds in the area were predicted to be minimal around the time of totality. I'm grateful for my cousin's choice to drive further to have clear weather.

 The atmosphere leading up to the eclipse was one of anticipation and excitement. While it was cloudy, it was not so bad that we couldn't see the eclipse; there were moments of more and then less clarity, but it was always evident and present. The eclipse experience itself was incredible. The anticipation of waiting, an hour sitting around felt like minutes, walking around to everyone's tailgate, and seeing a telescope setup, a zoomed-in camera, a time-lapse, and, of course, the classic viewing through solar eclipse glasses. The moon's approach felt like a blip, but the two minutes of totality transcended time, and the crowd could only look up in awe. Cheering commenced once totality was upon us.

After the eclipse, we all took a group photo, and I overheard a little boy ask, "Can we do that again?" I agree; it was a fantastic experience to see the totality. The sun disappeared, a white ring in the sky took its place, and everything went dark. I had heard the way people describe the eclipse on social media. Still, it was utterly different to see what they were describing. A sunset that was entirely radial 360, and planets become visible to the naked eye, and how dark it got. The ring in the sky appeared precisely as it was animated in season 20, episode 13 of the Simpsons titled “Gone Maggie Gone.”

Overall, after witnessing such a rare celestial event, I am overjoyed and confident in sharing an interest in the field of science that has allowed us to progress to this level of understanding of celestial bodies' movement and weather patterns. From www.timeout.com, there is an eclipse every 18 months. While they are only sometimes visible from a convenient spot, chasing them could be an exciting option, rather than waiting until the next one is visible from the mainland of the United States. If you still want to watch the eclipse that just happened, you can watch it on NASA's YouTube channel; they live-stream it from beginning to end and get amazing shots of what it looked like from space. Another option is to watch the time-lapse my cousin filmed! She also took the photo at the head of this post. I encourage you to book with her business for your real estate photography needs at https://www.shutterbugstudios.com. I hope this eclipse grew your interest in astronomy as it did mine!