See a solar eclipse

“When I slipped the glasses off for a moment to look around, the world had become noticeably dimmer. Not exactly in the way it gets dim in the evening, because the sky was still bright blue and the sun was still overhead; This was something unique, something that didn't make sense. The light that wrapped around us was slightly green; my eyes couldn’t quite adjust to it. Strange is very best word to describe it, and it was a little disturbing to watch that dimness grow. Then, in the last 30 seconds before totality, things got really dark. When the moon fully covered the sun, I couldn’t believe the blackness that descended. This wasn't twilight, this was more like an hour after sunset. The 360-degree sunset was more vivid that I'd imagined it would be; the entire horizon was on fire. The bright red color faded into orange and then into the deep blackish- blue that surrounded the sun and the moon.”

“As the Totality hit, there was a clear excitement in the air. People whistling and screaming, everyone was staring in awe at the sky. There was a somewhat disorganized count-down until the sun completely disappeared behind the moon. We all took off our glasses to stare directly at it. What a glorious, awe-inspiring sight! It almost felt like a ride or a movie, too intense to be "real life". One of the more amazing things was the level of darkness that was achieved. It wasn't a gradual darkening like I expected — instead, it was as if nighttime just dropped on us. Venus and Jupiter were clearly visible, we could see stars, and the two and a half minutes of Totality gave enough time to look around at the night sky at what appeared to be a 360-degree sunset. But then, just like that, the moon moved past and let a tiny sliver of light out, and it was daytime again.”

“The sun stayed bright in the sky through most of the partial eclipse, as I looked for a change in the quality of light, as I worked with projections and photos through filters, but the shine was steady as the sun sliver slimmed. Until — Then, after a time, behind the cloud, there was a bright, shining ring. And the cloud dissipated — it didn't drift away that I remember, it kind of dissolved — and there it was. Totality, sharp and white against the darkened sky, with sunrise all along the mountains surrounding us, a few stars and Venus making rare daytime encores. And for those 2 minutes and change, I didn't even try to take a picture.”