{"id":33933,"date":"2024-04-09T12:56:41","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T16:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=33933"},"modified":"2024-04-24T16:20:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T20:20:14","slug":"eclipse-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eclipse-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"The Eclipse in Photos: Looking Up, from Two Campuses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hundreds in Ithaca and Geneva gathered to gaze at darkening (but sadly cloudy) skies and teasing glimpses of a waning sun<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upstate New York\u2019s typically and persistently cloudy skies did not dampen enthusiasm for the April 8 total solar eclipse as Cornellians gathered at the University\u2019s Ithaca and Geneva campuses. To mark the occasion and to give students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to witness the rare celestial event, Cornell paused classes, along with some outdoor activities, to coincide with peak eclipse-watching time in the mid-afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ithaca saw a partial eclipse (of nearly 99% magnitude)\u2014but the AgriTech campus in Geneva, about 50 miles northwest, experienced a full eclipse, with totality lasting 2 minutes and 24 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Eclipse
Nearing totality on the AgriTech campus in Geneva.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In Ithaca, hundreds turned out for an Eclipse Extravaganza hosted by Student and Campus Life, with giveaways, snacks (including moon pies and \u201cgalaxy\u201d mocktails), and music with a celestial theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Libe Slope was crowded with excited onlookers\u2014and while skies remained mostly overcast, occasional breaks in the darkening clouds allowed momentary views of the progressing eclipse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AgriTech campus in Geneva experienced a full eclipse, with totality lasting 2 minutes and 24 seconds.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cheering erupted each time, as viewers rushed to grab their solar glasses for a safe glimpse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, four busloads of undergrads headed to AgriTech to watch from the path of totality, despite heavy cloud cover that moved in for the afternoon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(And in fact, so many Tompkins Country-area residents were on a similar quest northward that following the eclipse, some drivers endured a three-hour traffic jam on the road back to Ithaca.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Onlookers<\/figure>
\"Touchdown<\/figure>
\"Enthusiasm<\/figure>
\"Eclipse<\/figure>
\"Eclipse<\/figure>
\"Excited<\/figure>
\"One<\/figure>
\"A<\/figure>
\"Eclipse<\/figure><\/div>
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Students, staff, and faculty spread out on the lawn near AgriTech\u2019s Food Venture Center and also watched YouTube livestreams projected on the side of an adjacent building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only one narrow break in the clouds provided an all-too-brief view of the nearly eclipsed sun. But the overcast skies still darkened dramatically during totality\u2014rapidly creating almost-nighttime conditions as the crowd erupted in gasps and applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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