On April 8th, just three days after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook New York and the rest of the tri-state area, northern New York and other parts of the north east witnessed the first total solar eclipse in seven years. Eclipse glasses in hand, millions of people, both in the path of totality and outside, made their way outside to look to the sun as it was overtaken by the moon. In Buffalo, the sky got dark and natives of the area and those who had traveled to see the eclipse saw stars twinkling above. For as few as four minutes, countless people stopped everything to marvel at nature together as we let the notion of our insignificance compared to the vast never ending sky above sink in with our bewilderment.

Madeline Rose, Editor-in-Chief: After a five-hour car ride, my father, sister, brother, and I ventured to a small waterfront park in Geneva, New York. In a matter of minutes, the sky became dark, and albeit the cloudy cover, the eclipse was still apparent in all of its glory. In a zone of totality, night emerged for a brief period, and a chill swept through the air. Then, as if cleansed by the darkness, the daylight returned as if nothing had happened. Such natural phenomena are fascinating to learn about, but so much more engaging to see with your own eyes: experiencing environmental beauty firsthand.

Michelle Smith, Editor-in-Chief: Standing with my family and neighbors in front of my house, I looked to the sky excited and ready to see the moon cover the sun. Of course, the moon did not completely cover the sun over Wantagh and the event was over before I realized it started, but the space lover and -full disclosure- Star Wars geek inside of me was ecstatic. While I wish I could have seen stars like the folks in Buffalo, I was happy to settle for an orangey sky and a view reminiscent of the Death Star covering the distant sun of Alderaan.

AJ Bardi, Sports Editor: We were warming up for a baseball game in the back gym. Every few minutes the team would go outside with their glasses to check out the eclipse. We were a little disappointed that it was not a total eclipse but we still enjoyed the moment.

Jayla George, Entertainment Editor: I was home at the start of the Solar Eclipse.  It was not very monumental because there was not a total eclipse. My brother and I still went outside to watch it and we had the glasses too. It was still very fun and cool even though we could not see the entire eclipse because we were outside of the range. 

Miles Dale, Viewpoints Editor: I went immediately to my backyard after coming home with my eclipse glasses and my mom. My mom was upset that we didn’t get totality and we just happened to be 10% outside the range of it. She also tried to convince me to use my telescope to see the eclipse closer, but I preferred not to be blind for the rest of my life.

Bria Campo, Features Editor: During the eclipse, I was at home with my sister, Alexa. I had gotten home from school and once my sister got home we watched the eclipse progress together. We had the necessary glasses to watch it and watched it from our front yard. The experience was very interesting and I’m glad we were able to watch it. 

Mr. Rafferty, adviser: Racing over the Throgs Neck Bridge, I arrived in Port Chester to see the entire town sitting outside on Pearl Street in chairs staring up to the sky. In front of bodegas, bakeries, concert halls and trucking companies, it was so genuinely heartwarming to see humanity stop in its busy tracks to share in wonder at this celestial event. Romantic era poet William Wordsworth would have approved. For just a small fraction of a day in a year, our worldly concerns were left aside and we were bonded by this unique experience and our imaginations as children of the universe. That was an inspirational feeling I will never forget.