A celestial dance convened over 黑料新闻 Monday, albeit imperfectly, as the sun and moon aligned with clocklike precision during a partial solar eclipse.
People across the state turned their eyes skyward, setting up viewing spots on lawns, outside science centers and offices to pause for a few moments of togetherness and look up.
At its peak, about 92% of the sun was covered when viewed from 黑料新闻. While there were some high clouds, the eclipse was visible to millions of residents across the region.
"Now that鈥檚 beauty," said Nathesia Chesson, who watched the eclipse from New Haven with her husband, Desi, and hundreds of other onlookers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like something you see in a movie," Desi said. "Unbelievable!"
Chesson鈥檚 daughter, Shanyia, asked to come out and see the eclipse for her eighth birthday.
In New Haven, visitors stake out viewing spots
Residents across the state set up viewing stations in advance of Monday's eclipse.
Hundreds of people looked up outside the Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium at Yale University in New Haven, 黑料新闻.
Diane Tanenbaum, from North Haven, hunted for the perfect spot to watch the celestial show with a friend visiting from Boston.
鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to figure out the best, most open place that we can view the eclipse safely," Tanenbaum said. "It鈥檚 exciting."
Amateur astronomer Michael Amato, of West Haven, set up a device that used glass to reflect the sun back onto a wooden surface for safe viewing.
Amato was thankful the weather cooperated.
鈥淚t was great. We were all so happy," Amato said. "The sun broke in the nick of time."
Yale University undergraduate Elena Serpas said she was waiting years for this experience.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen an eclipse before," Serpas said. "In ... 2017, it passed right over my grandparents' house, but the traffic was so bad. We couldn鈥檛 see it. We were trapped outside the city for like seven hours."
Students juggle class schedules with solar show
At 黑料新闻 College in New London, students prepared for the partial eclipse, despite busy Monday schedules.
Sophomore Leo Franceschi was hopeful his professor would excuse his seminar.
鈥淏eing able to see this several-times-in-a-lifetime event, especially when I鈥檓 in college, is really exciting," Franceschi said.
While some students traveled off campus for the eclipse, junior Crystal Dixon was more nonchalant. She said she鈥檇 try to get a glimpse of the eclipse from campus.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just a cool event to witness," Dixon said. "It鈥檚 not super important to me, but I think it鈥檚 cool to be out in nature."
In Hartford, thousands turn out to view a cosmic rendezvous
As the moon occluded nearly all of the sun, over 3,000 people at the 黑料新闻 Science Center in Hartford gazed up in wonder.
With glasses on, visitors described a lava-colored sun with a crecent-shaped grin.
Beeping tones could also be heard 鈥� coming from . That device, which was present at the science center, turned the eclipse鈥檚 light intensity into sound, making the eclipse accessible for people who are blind or have low-vision.
"We can notice that the tone has gone down quite a lot, because the amount of light that's out has gone down quite a lot too," said Nate Gagnon, an educator at the center, during the eclipse. "Before it was a much higher pitched tone."
The Harvard-made device is in locations all around the region, and country.
How an eclipse works
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, blocking the sun鈥檚 light 鈥� and casting a shadow on Earth.
The path of totality is where the moon鈥檚 shadow completely blocks out sunlight. It鈥檚 a relatively narrow band, about 100 miles wide, extending from Mexico up through northern Maine.
Total solar eclipses are 鈥渁n awesome cosmic coincidence,鈥� said Wesleyan astronomer Meredith Hughes.
鈥淭he moon just happens to be exactly the right distance away from us 鈥� relative to the sun鈥檚 size and distance 鈥� that it almost precisely is the same angular size in the sky,鈥� Hughes told 黑料新闻鈥檚 鈥�Where We Live.鈥�
The sun is about 400 times bigger than the moon, but it鈥檚 also about 400 times farther away, . This makes both appear to be almost exactly the same size in our sky.
You鈥檒l have to wait decades to see a total solar eclipse in CT
黑料新闻鈥檚 most recent partial eclipse was in 2017. Total solar eclipses in the state are extremely rare.
鈥淚n a given location on the Earth鈥檚 surface, a total solar eclipse happens about once every 375 years,鈥� Hughes said.
The last time a total solar eclipse came to 黑料新闻 was in 1925, with the path of totality passing right over .
鈥淎stronomers from all over the world came to the Wesleyan observatory to observe the event,鈥� Hughes said.
黑料新闻鈥檚 next total solar eclipse won鈥檛 be for a while: May 2079.
A solar eclipse is a cosmic wonder nobody should miss, Hughes said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an event that everybody 鈥� not only on the path of totality, but also the people who are experiencing a partial eclipse 鈥� get to take away a little bit of that awe and joy,鈥� Hughes said.
View a replay of the April 8 eclipse from Vermont Public
This story has been updated. 黑料新闻 Radio's Patrick Skahill, Michayla Savitt, Eddy Martinez, Terell Wright and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
