Community members gather at USM Gulf Park Campus to witness April 8th eclipse

USM community members met across the campus to witness the show in the sky. However, something stood in their way.

“We’re holding out hope.”

“It’ll impact being able to view the sun but hopefully the clouds will part.”

Ultimately the clouds didn’t part, as the Mississippi Gulf Coast experienced cloudy skies and scattered rain throughout the day.

“The moon is going across and it’s blocking the path of the sun. We were supposed to see that eclipsed outline if everything went the way it was supposed to but unfortunately, we have a lot of cloud coverage today, so we have not really seen much so far.”

Despite the less-than-ideal weather, groups of students, faculty, and community members across the USM Gulf Park campus didn’t let the clouds impede on their eclipse experience.

The clouds, honestly, they’re amazing, they’re like you’ve never seen before, and the solar eclipse is important because it’s a rare event and we won’t be able to see it again in the next 20 years.”

Some viewers used technology to their advantage, using apps like “sky tonight” which allowed attendees to track the moon as it moved across the sun. In the end, the celestial event remained a valuable experience for those who attended.

“This is a once in a lifetime chance, the next one we’re not going to be able to see until 2044 so that’s another 20 years. As you have seen, we have a lot of little ones running around the field trying to witness this event, but it’s not something a lot of people get the chance to see in person. We still had a great time just hanging out with our USM Gulf Park community, so even though we haven’t been able to see a whole lot in person, everyone still came out and they had a really good time. It’s nice to still get community members all in one spot.”

Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024. View from Gulfport, MS. (youtube.com)