Richard Monda, an assistant professor in the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Department with a M.S. degree in astrophysics from RPI, witnessed the Great North American Eclipse in totality on April 8 at 3:27:31 p.m. EDT from a farm in Peru, NY. The nearly three-hour eclipse included 3 minutes and 34 seconds of totality.
Of the experience, Monda wrote: “Seeing a total solar eclipse is more than just an astronomical observation or a celestial sight in the sky, it is a human experience, it touches one’s soul. We can only ponder what other beautiful cosmic sights will be revealed to us.”
Inbound Partial Phase
Photo 1: 2:28 pm
Photo 2: 3:02 pm
Photo 3: 3:16 pm
Photo 4: 3:23 pm
Totality
Photo 5: 3:27pm, Coronal steamers
Photo 6: 3:29pm, Third Contact, end of total solar eclipse, showing coronal streamers and start of Dimond Ring Effect (almost at 6 o’clock position)
Second Partial Phases
Photo 7: 3:32 pm
Photo 8: 3:44 pm
Photo 9: 4:09 pm (sunspot visible in center of sun)
Photo 10: 4:25 pm (sunspot visible)
Solar Eclipse timetable at Peru, NY
Partial begins: April 8 at 2:14:03 p.m.
Full begins: April 8 at 3:25:44 p.m.
Maximum: April 8 at 3:27:31 p.m.
Full ends: April 8 at 3:29:18 p.m.
Partial ends: April 8 at 4:37:06 p.m.
Bonus Photos
Sun pillar before sunrise (6:15 a.m.) at the farmhouse in Peru, NY. (Sun pillars appear as a shaft of light extending vertically above the sun, most often at sunrise or sundown.)
