SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diegans patiently stared into space at the Fleet Science Center, waiting for the solar eclipse to appear through cloudy skies.
“I’m still waiting for the ring of fire, said Wendy Birdsall. "I was one of the first people out here.”
It finally peaked out around 9a.m. on Saturday.
“At first I was kind of annoyed because it was very foggy this morning, but once it came out it was a clear view of the sun,” said Xaviar Ha.
Less than thirty minutes later, hundreds of people could see the climax of sun coverage. The bright spot sparked excitement from the crowd that came to watch.
“I’ve always had a fascination for astronomy, stars, moon sun, all of it," Birdsall said. "I don’t know. I think it's something hardwired into everybody as human beings.”
“It was an unexpected very fun experience, my very first time seeing something like this,” said Elijah Clark.
Although it was partially covered, the sun is a lot brighter than you'd think. That's why volunteers asked everyone to wear special shades to protect their eyes from permanent damage.
“You're forcing yourself to look at the sun for a little longer than you would normally let yourself,” said Dr. Lisa Will, an astronomer at the Fleet Science Center.
Dr. Will says Saturday’s eclipse showed the moon covering about 30% of the sun.
“If you want to see the sun totally eclipsed, you’ll have to take a vacation from San Diego because that’s not going to happen in your lifetime," Dr. Will said. "That’s how rare being in the path of totality can be for a certain location.”
Dr. Will says there will be another partial solar eclipse in San Diego in April, but it wont have as much coverage as this one.
