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Across the Tri-Valley, thousands of residents donned special glasses and used other makeshift viewing devices to see the much-anticipated solar eclipse Monday morning.
In the region, viewers were able to witness a partial solar eclipse, as the moon obscured about 75% of the sun at the maximum eclipse point, according to NASA. The eclipse lasted from 9:01 a.m. to 11:38 a.m., with the maximum eclipse peaking at around 10:16 a.m.
Everyone in North America, as well as parts of South America, Africa and Europe were able to see at least a partial solar eclipse, while those in the “line of totality,” which crossed through portions of 14 states including Oregon, Montana and Georgia could see a total eclipse, in which the moon completely blocked the sun.
The Pleasanton and Danville libraries were each hosting an eclipse viewing party, with a limited number of eclipse glasses for distribution.
Considering that they weren’t in the “line of totality,” officials at the Pleasanton Library said they were pleasantly surprised by the turn-out — over 600 people showed up, with the line for eclipse glasses starting at 6 a.m.
The party had been in the works for a few months.
“We knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said John Mitchell, the librarian who planned the event (well, he clarified, he was the “assistant planner” — the astronomical bodies did most of the heavy lifting).
The 100th person, who would receive the last pair of glasses, showed up at 7:35 a.m., an hour before the viewing event would begin. Luckily, librarians said, everyone was willing to share with one another.
There was a showing of NASA’s live stream of the full solar eclipse in the large meeting room inside. But the rows of empty seats and crowds outside seemed to indicate that most people preferred the real deal.
“It’s phenomenal,” Pleasanton resident Bineet Sharma said.
Sharma arrived a little later after 10 a.m., after trying some do-it-yourself methods of eclipse viewing at home, like using a colander to project eclipse shadows onto the ground. He was still able to borrow glasses from others to see the spectacle.
Don Dossa from the Tri-Valley Stargazers Astronomy Club brought a telescope to the event. Many others from their club were (unsurprisingly) in Oregon for the best eclipse viewing, but Dossa didn’t want to suffer the traffic. A line had formed behind the telescope — for many, it was the first time they had looked through a telescope, Dossa said.
“It’s awesome,” said his son, Tom Dossa, who was helping viewers with the telescope. “There are a lot more people than we expected.”