Today was the day astronomers and sky gazers around North America were waiting for, as the first solar eclipse in our area since March of 1979 hit the skies this morning. 

The eclipse started around 10:20, with Lacombe being able to see maximum coverage around 11:30, which was about 70%.  

The Kraay Family Farm decided to open their doors half an hour early, as they invited people to come and watch the eclipse from there, handing out eclipse sunglasses to their first 500 visitors.

Rachel Kraay says they wanted to open the park, so the kids, who usually have shorter attention spans than parents, had something to keep them occupied during the two hour or so eclipse. They ordered the eclipse glasses months ago in preparation for this day, and to make sure they were getting the real things. 

“Several months ago we bought all the glasses before they ran out, which I didn’t know they were going to run out, so that was fortunate. It kind of gives people a fun thing to do, otherwise you are sitting around for two hours. This way they can play, and enjoy themselves. We try to give them a little bit of information, letting them know when the maximum eclipse is. I looked on the NASA site, and they had approved vendors for the glasses, so I ordered them from there.” 

The eclipse ended for all areas of North America at about 1:15 our time.

 

(A total solar eclipse is seen this morning above Madras, Oregon. Photo courtesy of NASA)

 

(The International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, is seen in silhouette as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, Washington. Photo courtesy of NASA)