CLEVELAND (WJW) — The great eclipse of 2024 turned a sunny day in Cleveland to darkness for an exhilarating 3 minutes and 50 seconds.
The moment when the moon passed between the Earth and the sun and cast its mighty shadow created the experience of a lifetime for Northeast Ohioans and visitors from across the country and the world.
For eclipse-watchers at the Great Lakes Science Center, sharing the astronomical moment as a community of stargazers was thrilling.
An 85-year-old visitor from Boston beamed as she told us, “This was absolutely fantastic and I finally saw totality. This was my goal, because I will never see another here in the United States. The place here couldn’t have been more perfect. It was wonderful. Everybody was so enthusiastic.”
The patriarch of a family that gathered for the eclipse, told us, “It’s always good to be with family, so any time you can have a historical moment, but also be with people you love, why not?”
Avon Lake was in the path of totality and the city prepared for the eclipse for months. Thousands shared the experience in a festival-like atmosphere in the stadium at Avon Lake High School.
“I mean, it’s a cosmic experience right in all cities of the world, so we are just amazed,” said Fabio Fabiolina, a visitor from Brazil.
Lorraine Helmkay, who traveled from Toronto to Avon Lake, told us, “I just think that people coming together and having a beautiful moment like this that we can share together in our history is a beautiful thing. It’s been terrific. Everybody has been so awesome.”
In Akron, eclipse-viewers were amazed by the dramatic change in light and temperature, and for some, April 8, 2024, will be a date that they will mark time by in their lives.
“The lighting, the brightness, the covering. … I just wasn’t expecting to see something that bright, glorious. It was pretty outstanding,” said Joe Kunzler.
Theresa Lefeave, who traveled to Akron from Virginia, told FOX 8 News, “It was fantastic. The ring at the end — amazing. Absolutely loved it.”
Akron eclipse-watcher Keith Munnerlyn added, “sitting outside and looking dead at it was spot on, awesome, yeah!”
Jack Shea
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