Unlike most total solar eclipses since 1979, the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse was easily reached by most Wyoming residents, as well as many others from Colorado's Front Range and other places. It was the first total solar eclipse seen coast to coast in the U.S. since 1918.
A number of LASSO members and friends traveled to Camp Guernsey, north of the city of Guernsey, to see the eclipse. Luckily, the weather was clear that day and we had no problem seeing the entire eclipse. Our location was about eight miles south of the eclipse centerline. Totality duration at this site was, 2 min 24.5 seconds, about four seconds shorter than at the center of the eclipse line nearby (2 min 28.4 sec).
The eclipse was stunning to see, but it was all over with too quickly. I had just spotted “Baily's beads” at the moon's edge through my small telescope when I realized that totality was just about over. Sunlight had come back faster than it had faded. As fellow LASSO member Lynn Hamblin remarked later “It was all over in two minutes and 20 seconds. You can't hit rewind and watch it again.”
The best we can do, since we can't see it again, is to share some of our photos of this amazing event with you. Click on the photo links below to see the images:
