After weeks and months of anticipation, the solar eclipse over New York City marveled millions with misty-eyed wonder on Monday.
The cosmic phenomenon started at about 2:10 p.m. on April 8, with the moon slowly beginning to obscure the sun. The peak hit at 3:25 p.m. Monday, with 90% of the sun obscured at that point, causing dimming in the skies. The eclipse will come to an end at about 4:36 p.m., with the next partial eclipse set to occur 24 years from now.
For weeks, New Yorkers have been gearing up for the celestial spectacle. Venues across the city are holding eclipse watch parties and have distributed special glasses for people use while gazing the skies Monday afternoon (looking at the sun without protection, especially during an eclipse, can cause permanent eye damage).
One such viewing party took place at Brooklyn Commons at MetroTech, where Brooklynites lined up in droves to get their hands on special glasses and take part in the event.
“We kinda waited until the last minute [for glasses],” said one resident, Jonathan Finer. “We called a few places, then my wife Lorena found the invite to the viewing party here at Brooklyn Commons.”
NYU ordered 5,000 pairs for the Brooklyn Commons event, and they wound up running out, according to NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s chief marketing officer Lauren Ptak. The party proved popular for both NYU students at the nearby Tandon School of Engineering, and court employees and judges who work at courts just blocks away.
“I called the library, they picked up, before they said anything else they Said ‘we don’t have glasses.’ then I saw this line, I figured maybe I’d get lucky,” said Judge Adam Perlmutter, who found the specs he was looking for at MetroTech.
At One World Observatory, organizers expected around 500 people to view the eclipse, which will be most visible from the south side of One World Trade Center’s roof — the tallest in the Big Apple at 1,250 feet above the street. The skyline view offers people a chance to see the whole progression of the eclipse.
Blaine McCurry, director of marketing, sales and sponsorships at One World Observatory, said, “There has not been a total eclipse in New York since 1925, there will not another one until 2079, so we figured what an opportunity to celebrate.”
‘I think of God when I look at that’
When the peak arrived at 3:25 p.m., it was as if time stood still around New York. School had let out by then, and homes and businesses emptied while people gathered on the street, in parks and even from apartment building parking lots to take in the spectacle.
From the Brooklyn Commons, Nesi Parker borrowed a pair of glasses to witness the phenomenon — which had a higher meaning.
“I think it’s beautiful. The colors, like that orange color, that little crest, is beautiful,” Parker said. “I think of God when I look at that.”
Andre Taylor, a solar energy researcher/professor at NYU, sought to explain the uniqueness of this phenomenon to Earth, noting that the size of moon in relation to sun and distance to Sun makes this tiny blue dot in the universe the only place where something like this can occur.
“We’re unique in any other planet in our solar system. We’re the only one where the size of our moon is like 400 times smaller than the sun, and then the distance of the sun is like 400 times the distance of the moon from the earth,” Taylor said. “That way when they both cross paths we have this total eclipse. And I didn’t realize we have the only moon that can do that.”
You can watch the solar eclipse at amNY.com.
Stay with amNY.com all day today for more coverage of the solar eclipse.
