Syracuse basks in the darkness of historic solar eclipse

Syracuse joined millions across the country in experiencing an out-of-this-world phenomenon Monday as eyes turned toward the sky for a rare total solar eclipse.

With eclipse glasses on and cameras ready, thousands of Syracuse University students gathered on the quad and across campus. Some stood atop higher points such as Thornden Park and venues like Harvey’s Garden to witness the celestial event.

“It’s just crazy,” said Sadie Lehrfeld, a political science and citizenship and civic engagement sophomore who watched with friends from Walnut Park. “The last time there was an eclipse I was in 8th grade watching it alone from home. Now I am sitting here watching the total solar eclipse with all my friends in college.”

Syracuse was positioned within the eclipse’s path of totality that spanned the midsection of North America, from Mazatlan, Mexico, to the Canadian province of Newfoundland. SU hosted multiple watch parties at different locations around campus, each with its own twist.

At the quad where the College of Arts and Sciences and the Physics Department staged activities and demonstrations, a consistent cloud cover obscured the view for those camped out during the 2.5-hour window.

Magazine, news and digital journalism sophomore Brooke Fried heard of the numerous activities taking place on the quad, deciding to stay there and watch the total eclipse.

“People were cheering when it would get visible, and there was lots of chatter when everybody was hanging out hoping the clouds would clear,” Fried said.

With any breaks in the clouds, students started cheering and scrambling for the paper glasses to catch a momentary glimpse of the partial eclipse.

The biggest roar from the crowd came at 3:23 p.m. when the new moon aligned perfectly between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow over Syracuse for approximately 90 seconds.

“Especially when it was really dark, the atmosphere was great,” education major Sarah Plutzer said. “Everybody started laughing and yelling. It was super cool seeing how many people were there.”

Policy studies and selected studies in education sophomore Bobby Battle was sprawled on a blanket with her friends to enjoy the community watch parties on the quad.

While some of her friends jokingly remarked that “the world is ending” or slightly upset they “still had an exam today,” Battle was excited to be surrounded by the campus community on a historic day.

“I’m here for community and for fun,” Battle said. “It only happens once in a lifetime. I’m excited to have fun.”

Broadcast and digital journalism freshman Rowan Mastrangelo walked around the quad with a microphone in hand interviewing spectators. The New Jersey native saw a partial eclipse seven years ago. He shared his excitement to be in the path of totality in Syracuse today.

“I saw a lot of clips circulating from 2017 of the people that were in totality and it got totally dark,” Mastrangelo said. “I think that would be really cool. I knew there would be a lot of people [on the quad] and it makes me happy.”

Once-in-a-lifetime event

For the first time in nearly a century, Upstate New York experienced dusk in the daytime as a total solar eclipse passed through the center of North America. Beginning at around 11 a.m., this once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event moved from Mexico’s Pacific coastline up to Maine. At 3:23 p.m. in Syracuse, the sky darkened for 90 seconds as the moon perfectly aligned between the sun and Earth.

For some parts of the continent, the sun was only partially blocked. For the 15 states situated in the path of totality, though, viewers experienced up to four minutes and 28 seconds of total darkness. While further north or west of Syracuse experienced longer and more visible totality, residents in surrounding areas saw the entire glowing ring of the sun’s outer atmosphere that is usually invisible to the naked eye.

While solar eclipses occur every 18 months, their novelty is usually unnoticed as it passes over empty oceans or unpopulated areas. But on Monday, nearly 32 million Americans were situated in the path of totality – where the moon’s 100-mile-wide shadow was cast, revealing momentary total darkness in the middle of the day. For upstate New York, this won’t occur for another 375 years in the year 2399.