An astronaut watched the heavens move in Mitchell during total solar eclipse

Crawfordsville, Indiana, native Joe Allen spent 314 hours in space, according to his NASA biography. Allen is a 1959 graduate of DePauw University and, according to DePauw Libraries, he flew on two space missions: the first fully operational flight of the space shuttle in 1982 and the salvage mission of two $35 million satellites two years later.

Allen was present for Monday's total solar eclipse at another astronaut's home. Gus Grissom's former residence was open to the public for eclipse viewing where there were boxed lunches for sale, free viewing glasses and eclipse souvenirs.

Vince Diloreto was also in Mitchell for the celestial event. He attached his smartphone to a Hestia "smart telescope," which functions like a large telephoto lens for the smartphone.

Since 2020, Diloreto and his wife, Angela, have traveled all over the country finding interesting people and stories in the places they visit.

Angela Diloreto said, "We were going to Bloomington, so we stopped here first (Home of Mitchell astronaut Gus Grissom), and we thought we'd just stay here. This is a better place to watch the eclipse."

The Diloretos document their travels and offer advice at fittinginadventure.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Several witness 2024 total solar eclipse at Grissom home in Mitchell