The eclipse, which took place on April 8, captivated large crowds of people in Parking Lot P3 of Dallas College Brookhaven Campus. Students, eclipse enthusiasts and members of the local community gathered on campus to watch the rare total solar eclipse, which occurred from 12:23 p.m. to 3:02 p.m, with totality starting at 1:41 p.m.
As the moon was making its way to sweep in between the sun and the earth, more and more people arrived – families sitting on the grass, students happily excused from class and even out of state visitors. Jeffrey Peden, department chair of physical sciences at Dallas College, said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity – I think it’s one of those things where throughout history large groups of people have gathered to watch eclipses so it’s a community event as well and there’s also of course lots of scientific information that can be learned. There is something for everybody to get out of it.”
The parking lot buzzed with curiosity as everyone lined up to look through the telescopes and solar viewers, binoculars and interactive activities. Sunspots and solar flares could be viewed from the refractor telescope. Several Schmidt-Cassegrains and a Hydrogen-Alpha telescopes were brought out for use. Individuals were also offered the opportunity to take pictures through welders glass, to get pictures of the eclipse using their smartphones.
Brian and Rose Dunn, visitors from Denver, Colorado shared that NASA had listed Dallas College as a place to watch the eclipse from and that Brookhaven’s location was the perfect spot for them. Rose Dunn said, “We were super excited that there was something close by that wasn’t going to be a total mob scene like downtown, with telescopes and people who can talk to us about what we’re witnessing.”
As totality approached, everyone settled in their places and looked through their eclipse viewers every minute to see the moon’s progress. As the moon made its way in front of the sun, casting its dark shadow over Dallas, the mood in the air swiftly shifted into even greater excitement and awe as everyone cheered and pointed toward the eclipse, finally able to look directly at the sun without the worry of damaging their retinas. Many applauded and snapped as many pictures as they could in the nearly four-minute time frame, while others simply basked in the spectacular view.
As the eclipse subsided and light began to peek its way back into Dallas, attendees left the parking lot with unforgettable memories of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The event at Brookhaven was both an educational opportunity as well as a lively social event. Tarveen Ahluwalia, from Palo Alto, California, said the campus held a nice event, and said they were glad they got the chance to witness the grand celestial event in their lifetime.
