On the day of the celestial event, university students across campus stopped their daily routines to witness the rare sighting of the total solar eclipse.
Students gathered for a viewing party on Renner Lawn. They sat on blankets on the lawn and others on the steps at the back of the conservatory.
Many stood upright, paired with their eclipse glasses, staring straight into the clear blue sky.
Archer, campus’s celebrity dog, was in attendance with his solar eclipse glasses on.
Abigail Apouvi, a student who attended the eclipse viewing party, said the experience was worthwhile.
Apouvi said, “I enjoyed watching the solar eclipse with my friends and peers on campus. It was nice seeing everyone out together.” The viewing party lasted the entire duration of the eclipse.
According to NASA scientists, “A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun.”
Those in the path saw their surroundings darken as if it were night. The lights began to darken as the moon covered the sun’s light rays.
According to Eclipse2024.org, Columbus does not sit on the exact location of complete totality; residents experienced the eclipse at 99.68% totality.
Marysville, Dublin and Delaware are neighboring cities that reached the 100% threshold for totality.
This phenomenon takes place worldwide every 18 months on average. However, it remains a rare sighting.
According to the Earth Observatory at NASA, the average for any one spot to get to see the solar eclipse is every 375 years.
The Mathematics Honors Society, Kappa Mu Epsilon, has regularly put on math-related activities to educate students. They held events for Pi Day and were at the scene informing students about the total solar eclipse.
At their tabling event on April 5, they gave out eclipse glasses and showed students different apps to make sure they know when the sun and moon will align.
Many students took this opportunity to travel off campus in order to view the100% totality in neighboring cities.
The co-president of Kappa Mu Epsilon, Anna Cosmic, shared how she is willing to make the trip for complete totality.
Cosmic stated, “I will probably be watching from Hilliard…So it kind of straddles the edge of totality, but I’m hoping to go somewhere where I can still be able to see the total experience.”
Some students see this phenomenon as a more than worthwhile experience that will remain in their minds for years to come.
Hannah Grissom, a high school math education major, said, “It’d be really cool to see the eclipse just because it’s something that almost never happens… then be able to tell my kids like, ‘Hey, I got to see this amazing thing that never happens.’”
Some students don’t see this eclipse event as out of the ordinary. Davonni Houston shared how they weren’t looking forward to this year’s eclipse.
“I’m not too excited about the eclipse actually, just because I feel like it’s not a once in a lifetime thing. Like, there are plenty of eclipses and during the peak of the eclipse…I’ll be taking an exam for psychology so I’ll probably miss out on the better part of it.”
The next total solar eclipse is in two years on Aug. 12, 2026, visible from the Arctic, Iceland, Eastern Greenland and Northern Spain. According to the National Eclipse the next total eclipse on the path, which is visible for a larger portion of North America, will happen in the year 2044.
