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Families gathered around midday Saturday and looked up. Some from outside their homes, others while going about their business and running errands, and then there were those at local events.
Communities throughout the Rio Grande Valley, and all over North America, spent part of their Saturday catching a glimpse of the annular solar eclipse, which produced what’s referred to as a ring of fire — not precisely the Johnny Cash kind, but an astrological phenomenon that occurs when the moon is positioned from our vantage point between the sun and the Earth.
This eclipse marked the first of its kind since 2012, which was the last time the moon was at its furthest point from Earth. That’s what casts a glowing ring which, if you’ve seen the photos on social media, appears like a ring of fire.
At the sundial in Edinburg, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley created its own convergence by holding the 60th anniversary of the UTRGV H-E-B Planetarium the same day, and asked the public to watch the eclipse from the location.
And the public showed up.
Organizers handed out protective glasses in order to see the eclipse (you can’t look directly at the sun during the eclipse) as attendees excitedly gazed upward to see the phenomenon.
Families brought blankets and lawn chairs, tripods and telescopes. They took out their cellphones, zoomed in as much as the megapixels on their cameras would allow and snapped photos, and some decided to picnic on the grounds. But all their eyes — and imaginations — were skyward.
The vibe was similar on social media as users posted hundreds of photos on the Facebook pages of The Monitor, Valley Morning Star and The Brownsville Herald, showing off some impressive work shot from all over the Valley, and some from outside the region as well.
Others, however, just wanted a laugh.
Users posted memes of tlacuaches, tortillas, avocados, conchas, Bronco 956 and yes, Cowboys fans, even the San Francisco 49ers logo.
This writer even got in on the eclipse action and posted photos, only to be mocked by his very own publications for the low quality. Although Facebook user Melody King Mokoko graciously posted a photo of their own forehead during an apparently ill-fated attempt at photographing the eclipse, presumably in defense (thank you, Melody).
Simply put: Fun was had by all who went outside and looked up on Saturday.
Related viewing
Photo Gallery: Solar eclipse viewing party held amid planetarium anniversary at UTRGV
