CULLMAN, Ala. – Residents in Cullman County saw an annular solar eclipse in the sky on Saturday, Oct. 14. The event occurs every one to two years and, depending on weather and cloud coverage, was able to be seen across the county. For three hours and three minutes, the moon cut into the bright sun, slowly casting shadows for all to witness. Families assembled in driveways, holding pinhole projectors and colanders, allowing little ones to join the wonder. Groups of astrological enthusiasts gathered together in yards and parking lots to visualize the eclipse, many meeting and greeting neighbors and friends as they took turns with their specialty eclipse glasses.
According to NASA, “An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth while it is at its farthest point from Earth. Because the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the star. This creates a ‘ring of fire’ effect in the sky.”
One group of students congregated and spoke about a recent science lesson, courtesy of this solar spectacular. Jackson Sharp said, “We just learned about an annular eclipse yesterday at school; it’s really cool.” Students studied facets of the eclipse such as umbra and penumbra. Sharp continued, explaining the lesson, “The umbra is the darkest part of the shadow and the penumbra is just the shaded part. You will see a total eclipse if you’re in the umbra and a partial eclipse if you are in the penumbra.”
Students were not the only residents excited about gazing into the galaxy for this eye-catching occurrence. WVTM Chief Meteorologist Jason Simpson also got in on the fun, stating, “Just in general, it’s a neat event,” he said on Saturday. “The temperature dropped a single degree during the peak in Cullman this afternoon, but it’s not quite as dramatic as the one in 2017 when we actually had some spotty storms in progress that collapsed as we got to the peak!”
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