*Updated to add video of the eclipse experience at Santa Fe College.
GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – Monday marked the day where millions shared a rare experience that most will only experience once or twice in their lives.
The experience of a lifetime
In Gainesville, a watch party at Santa Fe College attracted several hundred to witness the partial eclipse.
As the celestial sighting started around 1:45 p.m., students, staff, faculty, and families began to fill the courtyard outside the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium to observe the moon passing between the sun and the Earth.
“Anything that gets students or people engaging and learning and exploring, I think it’s always important,” said Lee Delaino, the Santa Fe College Learning Commons Director.
Delaino described the moment as “historic.”
“When you hear an eclipse is coming, you’re like ‘Oh yeah, that’s kind of cool and maybe I’ll take a look. Maybe I won’t. Maybe it doesn’t seem that important.’ As soon as you look at it you think, ‘Wow, that is really amazing,’ said Delaino. “It’s not something you can really understand what you’re going to be looking at until you’re looking at it yourself and you think, ‘It’s just wondrous because it’s so unusual and unique.”
Delaino says we should use opportunities like the eclipse to enrich our lives. “Be curious and take a look at the world around you and appreciate the beauty of it,” said Delaino.
Multiple “wows” were uttered as spectators outfitted with eclipse glasses and solar viewers leaned their heads back to observe the spectacle in the sky.
Others checked out tabletop sunspotters which projected the image of eclipse.
Moria Bowman came to the watch party to witness it unfold with her family and friends.
“It’s a good thing to enjoy the eclipse and to enjoy nature. I think it’s good that I get to experience this young, and I’ll have stories to tell my grandchildren in the future,” said Bowman.
The eclipse timed perfectly for Christelle Beau De Rochars, a high school student dual-enrolled at Santa Fe, who checked it out after class.
“I came out here and I was surprised at how many people were out here. I saw it and I was really excited to see it. It was pretty cool,” admitted Beau De Rochars. “I think it would be cool down the road when other people are just learning about it to be like, ‘Yeah, I witnessed one.'”
It was the first time for Santa Fe student Eric Williams to experience a solar eclipse.
“This means a lot to me to be able to experience this moment. This is a moment that connected me and millions of people to one exact moment in time,” said Williams.
When he learned that Florida will be in the path of totality for a solar eclipse in the United States in 2045, he was ecstatic.
“That’s really exciting because to my knowledge Florida hasn’t seen a total eclipse since I have been alive. It will be so thrilling to see something so beautiful as that,” added Williams.
James Albury, the planetarium manager, led a show inside before the eclipse to teach the audience about solar and lunar eclipses. They even got a chance to fly to the moon using special software.
“One of the things that the mission of the college is to improve the experiences for people here, the educational experience for not only our students but the community in general,” said Albury. “One of the reasons that I had the event here is so that people could come over and have an experience and learn about the eclipse and see it with professional astronomers and ask us questions.”
|PHOTOS: The solar eclipse experience in the 352 and around the U.S.
Eclipse chasing
Albury says he and his wife plan to start “eclipse chasing” starting with the next total eclipse in Spain in 2026.
Florida will be in the path of totality for an eclipse on Aug. 12, 2045. Albury says the swath will cover most of the Sunshine State, from Tallahassee, to Gainesville, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and then through the Bahamas.
Beyond the eclipse
Though this eclipse is over, Albury says the planetarium offers community events every weekend including a show titled Florida Skies that teaches about the constellations. You can find out more about the planetarium shows here.
This weekend Albury says the planetarium will have shows every hour during the Spring Arts Festival. The festival which also features artists, activities, and vendors takes place Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.