‘I see it!’ People view eclipse in Rancho Mirage with glasses, telescopes and pinholes

Skygazers of all types gathered Saturday morning to view an eclipse, the partial covering of the sun by the moon, that shaded the desert for about an hour in partial sunlight from the eastern sky.

Those gathered in the Coachella Valley, and Southern California generally, were not in a position to see the so-called "ring of fire," when the moon covers all but the outside edges of the sun, expected in Northern California. Still, locally, eclipse viewers were treated to the moon covering about 80% of the sun.

The Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory hosted a free eclipse viewing event Saturday at the Rancho Mirage Community Park, providing hundreds of viewers a peek of the eclipse through telescopes equipped with solar filters.

Lois Bondurich, a local amateur stargazer, watched as her granddaughter built a pinhole projector with a volunteer's help.

"If I can get one kid out here to learn a little more about this stuff than they learn in school, I'm happy," she said.

Bondurich said she was drawn years ago to stargazing, in part because she is legally blind and is inspired by the view into the universe provided her by telescopes and other technologies. She smiled as her granddaughter looked through the cardboard contraption and exclaimed: "I see it!"

The eclipse started just after 8 a.m. and peaked just before 9:30, reducing until about 11 a.m.

Bob Henry, who has been volunteering for about four months as an observatory docent, greeted people as they arrived at the park, handing out free protective glasses and invited those interested to come to the regular viewings hosted at the nearby observatory.

"I'm very much excited about today," he said. "But if this interests you, you should come to the observatory. It's a real treat."

Sunny Wood, of Cathedral City, was among dozens of people waiting in line for a turn with one of several telescopes providing magnified, protected views of the eclipse as it peaked. She accompanied a friend who had heard about it at a spa she works at.

"The stars — that's where everything is, that's where we come from," said Wood. "It's a sacred thing."

As most looked up through the protective glasses to see the dark silhouette of the moon like a crescent-shaped shadow slowly crawl in front of the sun, some looked down around them. Parents and children made shapes with their hands, playing with the puppets their darkening shadows cast on the ground.

The light, as eyes adjusted, slightly dimmed. And in a moment, began again to gradually brighten as people collected their things and left.

Eric McLaughlin, the city's astronomer and de facto host of the event, had been providing guided viewings of the eclipse through the telescopes and answered questions from the lingering public.

"One of the things astronomy can do is give you a new perspective of things," McLaughlin said. "The moon isn't just an abstract light in the sky and neither is the sun. They're objects interacting."

Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella Valley residents gather as partial eclipse shades the desert