2024 as a year will be remembered for multiple things. However, one reason for which I will remember this year is witnessing my second totality during the total eclipse in April. After having experienced my first totality back in the 2017 eclipse, I was hooked. This time around, I got to share that experience with both my partner and with a few of my friends.
For the longest period of time, I wasn't even sure if I would be able to travel for the eclipse since my knee wasn't fully healed. Neither was I confident about the weather, which can play spoilsport in April in most of the country. Thankfully, with a few last minute changes, my partner and I were able to catch this years eclipse.
While photography was not as stellar as the one in 2017 due to a thin layer of high altitude clouds, the experience of being in the zone of totality was still unmatched. Here is one of the many photos I took that day, with this one capturing the moment the sun emerged from behind the moon. It features a very bright Baily's beads, with the effect being called a diamond ring of the eclipse. See this large in my 2025 calendar, available for purchase at this link, This is likely the last day to purchase it in order to get it in time for Christmas.
Indianapolis
IN, USA
Life on a May Day
4 May Days ago, I found myself in Kreuzberg in Berlin, amidst masses of people protesting for workers rights. Despite the worker movement being strong in Germany in general and Berlin in particular, apart from a few hastily scribbled signs, this "protest" carried a celebratory atmosphere. Humanity greeted me whichever direction I turned and whichever street I took. People were certainly enjoying the "Punk Life"
I can only imagine how the situation right now is. Social distancing protests certainly doesn't carry the same carnival atmosphere as what I had witnessed in Berlin in 2016
Berlin
Germany
Totality
It was the morning of Aug 21, the day of the total eclipse. The bright sunny day was slowly transforming into a twilight zone. The light started fading slowly at first, and quickened as it approached totality. The mercury was dropping steadily, and I regretted my decision on not carrying a hoodie. The crescent of the sun continued thinning, and suddenly, Mt Jefferson, a volcanic peak 100 miles away, went dark. And then, darkness hit me with a celestial hammer.
The bright disk of sunlight was replaced by the stream of coronal discharge emanating in all directions. Even solar flares on the surface became visible. And while that in itself was spectacular, it was seeing the surreal landscape around that threw me off. The sky was pitch black above me (dark enough to spot planets), while on either side of the band of totality, it looked like twilight after a sunset. The crowds all around erupted in cheers, while I was still juggling the task of soaking in the scene and trying to capture the event with two cameras. Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable event. And then, just as darkness began, it ended.
I had seen eclipses before, a partial eclipse back in India, and an annular eclipse in California. And I had known today's total eclipse for a long time. And I had always wondered what the big deal of a total eclipse was. But after today's event, I was completely blown away by how unique totality is. And I now look forward to total eclipses that the future will bring.
Madras
OR USA