Watch the skies: Solar eclipse brings SouthCoast star-gazers together, young and old

Viewing the sun’s corona around the rim of the moon’s shadow, Carol Mlynek said it’s too bad she and her friends didn’t have a few Corona beers to share.

“Either that or champagne,” said Toni Souliere.

They and friends Beverly Oliveira and Ana Guillmette sat on lawn chairs behind the North End Senior Center in Fall River, along Pearce Street, facing southwest on Monday afternoon to view the solar eclipse.

“We’re supposed to get a 91% totality,” Souliere said.

They normally meet up from 1 to 3 p.m. for a sewing group, but took a break Monday. Astronomical phenomena like this are a rare treat. Another total solar eclipse will move across parts of the country in 2045, but the next one viewable in New England is on May 1, 2079.

On the lookout for eclipse glasses

Across the SouthCoast, people spent the sunny spring afternoon sitting and gazing at the heavens — eclipse-viewers were seen in Kennedy Park, North Park, in their yards, along streets, and anywhere else people had a few minutes to spare and an unobstructed view of the sky. Students at some Fall River public schools were dismissed just in time for the action.

“We had, I think, 600 glasses total to give away and we’re out," said Kaija Gallucci, library assistant at the Swansea Free Public Library. “We gave out some this morning and more when the party started, and now we’re out. Everybody’s looking for them.”

The library's lawn was swarming with kids from a local Girl Scouts troop, older folks in chairs brought from home and picnic tables. People chatted and ate snacks, periodically checking through special glasses as the moon intruded on the sunshine.

“I can remember we used unexposed film,” said Beverly Simmons, recalling past eclipses she’s seen.

She sat with Randy Gersbach, an old friend from Somerset High who said he remembered learning how to make a pinhole camera.

“This is better,” Simmons said.

As moon's shadow blocks sun, 'you can feel the eclipse'

Matthew Crawford, 12, left school early to see it. His mother, Angie, and grandmother, Diane Rowland, brought along pizza. Loaded with eclipse facts, Matthew checked the sun frequently with his glasses as it approached its peak of totality. “Solar eclipses are a rare event,” he said, adding that he likes “how dark it gets, and you get to look at it.”

He said he didn’t recall seeing the last solar eclipse viewable here, in 2017. But in 2022, he did see the lunar eclipse.

“I woke him up at 5:30 in the morning to see it,” Angie Crawford said.

“Right now, the moon is making its way in front of the sun, right now, as we speak," he said, and checked through his glasses.

The eclipse’s totality peaked around 3:30 p.m., as an eerie dimness descended — as if the atmosphere had suddenly become hazy despite the clear blue sky. What was a warm afternoon grew chilly as the sun’s rays were blocked by the moon’s shadow.

“It’s nice that it was so clear and so warm earlier that you can feel the contrast with how cold it is now," said Gallucci. "You can feel the eclipse.”

Once past its peak, the atmosphere brightened again and the breeze grew warmer. The moon’s shadow cleared the sun around 4:30 — but for eclipse-viewers, the party continued until 5.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Solar eclipse 2024: Viewing parties in Fall River and Swansea