Once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse to be seen from the shores of Lake Ontario
By Tom and Jerry Caraccioli
During its onset, the sky surrounding the afternoon sun becomes very dark, very quickly and turns a deep dark blue.
Stars and planets suddenly pop up out of nowhere as if it is nighttime. The temperature drops more than 10 degrees. A gray veil falls over everything. And the atmosphere becomes a little scary.
In the final seconds, the dull blackness from the west suddenly springs up out of the Earth like a gigantic curtain traveling at supersonic speed. The moon’s shadow covers the sky with blackness. The positive electricity of the moment envelopes everyone around sharing this experience.
For those lucky enough to experience a total solar eclipse of the sun, it is sometimes defined as a
life-altering experience.
On April 8, beginning at 2:08 p.m., Oswego, will be the scene of phenomena that is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event for this Port City.
For two hours and 26 minutes the moon, 400 times smaller and 400 times farther from the sun, will pass between the orbits of the Earth and sun.
The moon’s shadow —the umbra — will cross the Earth’s surface and cause the sun to disappear in the path of totality that creates a total eclipse of the sun.
For three minutes and 30 seconds, people in Oswego will experience what many “umbraphiles” — those who spend thousands of dollars traveling the far reaches of the world to witness a total eclipse of the sun in person — can only dream of by viewing it without leaving their own backyards.
The English word “eclipse” is derived from the Greek “ekleípō,” meaning disappearance. In ancient times people who were not involved in science did not understand what was happening and became fatally frightened during the experience.
The ancient Greeks believed the gods were punishing the king and the eclipse foretold this punishment. Ancient Egyptians also associated the sun’s disappearance with misfortune since cloudless, clear skies suddenly became dark and nighttime stars would appear. The ancient Aztecs believed demons were possessing the sun and would soon bring an end to the world as they knew it. Norse Vikings hooted and hollered in an effort to scare eaters of the sun and moon, Skoll and Hati. In Native American cultures, some see the solar eclipse as rebirth, a rebalancing, while others see the phenomena as a bad omen. Ironically, in this “Year of the Dragon” in Chinese culture, the ancients once believed the eclipse was caused by an invisible dragon eating the sun.
In early April, officials in the city of Oswego expect the Port City to experience prosperity with hopes of the population swelling tens of thousands to Harborfest-like crowds coming to the area to witness the path of totality of this solar wonder.
“It’s hard to put a number on our expectations,” said Dan Breitweg, deputy director of community development, tourism and planning. “The eclipse will certainly draw people to our area for this once-in-our lifetime event. We are certainly looking forward to an uptick of people visiting our local businesses and establishments and staying in our hotels. If people are planning to come to Oswego County on April 8, many communities will be putting on free viewing events. And if travelers are looking to budget, they should be aware that some hotels are requiring minimum stays of three nights. We also are preparing for more visitors from surrounding counties who will not experience totality or will only experience it for a shorter amount of time.”
Incredibly, not only will people be able to see the total eclipse, Oswego County Tourism also is one of only three locations in New York state that has a LightSound box allowing people who are visually impaired to experience the eclipse through sound. There also are scheduled plans to livestream the sounds from that device making the eclipse accessible to everyone.
Oswego Mayor Rob Corradino said the city has plans for a block party on West First Street between Bridge and Oneida streets. Though no one can be sure of the specific economic impact of the event, the planned festivities including food vendors, music and other special entertainment events will undoubtedly prove to be a boon.
“There will be a lot of people coming to town and our hotels will be filled,” Corradino said. “We’re also encouraging our restaurants to stay open on Sunday, as well as our downtown stores.”
Broadwell Hospitality Group director of special events George Broadwell also thinks the solar eclipse events of the weekend leading to the path of totality event on Monday could generate “Harborfest-like” visitors to the Port City.
“A lot of people don’t really know what to expect,” Broadwell said. “Historically, April usually has nothing going on. This year we will be sold out at the Best Western Plus and Clarion Inn Suites for the solar eclipse events.”
At SUNY Oswego, Katelyn Barber, assistant professor of meteorology, is involved with helping organize events before and during April 8.
“It’s not unreasonable to expect about 10,000 visitors to campus that day,” Barber said. “We are inviting anyone that wants to come out including area schools that want to bring their classes here. There is a registration form they need to fill out so we can organize their visit.
On the day of the eclipse we are going to lead off with some noted dignitaries — experts in astrophysics from Yale University, University of Glasgow and Ohio State. That kicks off at 9 a.m. and is open to the public in Shineman Center. There also will be weather balloon launches every hour that the public can view. We will have activities for younger students — mask-making, a ‘Baily’s Beads’ section where kids can make friendship–keepsake bracelets to mark the event, telescope viewing and whitelight binoculars to look at the sun before the eclipse and during, as well as presentations on helio-physics and eclipses in general.”
Trajectory
As the moon’s shadow traverses west to east across the daytime sky on April 8 in what is known as the “Great North American Eclipse,” the path of totality begins in Mexico and travels northeast through 13 states from Texas to Maine including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.
It will methodically begin to cover the brilliant solar disk in the atmosphere we know as the sun. When it gets to Oswego, the sun’s corona, with its pearly outer atmosphere, will softly glow against a deep twilight blue sky over Lake Ontario until it disappears.
When the last sliver of the sun’s light shrinks behind the shadow of the moon, the sun’s corona will become visible and the last vestiges of sunlight will glare through valleys on the moon creating a “bead” effect at the moon’s edges. Known as “Baily’s Beads,” they will dance around until the very last one brightens into a huge bead providing viewers with the famous “diamond ring” effect for a moment. And, while some people will take their filtered glasses off during the “diamond ring” effect, technically, it is ill-advised until the sun is totally gone.
At 3:23 p.m., totality will be complete and the skies of Oswego will be dark for more than three minutes.
During totality, viewers won’t need to wear the protective eyewear that is necessary during the onset of totality. They will see the corona burst into view as the diamond fades and appear as if wispy-white cotton candy has filled the “black hole” that’s been cut out of the blue-black sky. Tongues of red fire may become visible around the edges of the sun known as solar prominences. Spectators that look away from the eclipse for a moment also will see a blaze of sunset orange enveloping the entire horizon.
At 4:34 p.m., nearly two-and-a half-hours after it began, the solar eclipse will end. The adrenaline rush of the experience will begin to subside. Shadows will return. The sky will fill with light again. And the path to a new beginning will surface as the majestic star at the center of our solar system also will return.
Despite thousands of cameras and cell phones that will inevitably chronicle this once-in-a-lifetime event in the Port City, it is safe to say no photo will ever quite do justice to the indelibly-etched memories of those who were lucky enough to have experienced the “path of totality” from Oswego.
Tom and Jerry Caraccioli are freelance writers originally from Oswego, who have co-authored two books: “STRIKING SILVER: The Untold Story of America’s Forgotten Hockey Team” and “BOYCOTT: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.”
