A free community event sponsored by Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue and the Malibu Film Society to view the solar eclipse as it traveled across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina last Monday was a real hit with locals. Nearly 300 people of all ages showed up between the hours of 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to watch the live NASA-TV coverage on the big screen, enjoy hot beverages or go outside and watch the actual eclipse with special eclipse-viewing sunglasses or a homemade cardboard box pinhole camera.
The event had a lighthearted party atmosphere with everyone seeming to have a good time enjoying the rare and possibly once-in-a-lifetime cosmic viewing experience. In Malibu, approximately 62 percent of the sun was blocked out at the peak eclipse time of about 10:15 a.m.—enough to see a definite crescent shape across the sun (using viewing devices) and watch the sky get noticeably darker.
Those watching the big screen during the first portion of the eclipse in Oregon were rapt with attention. As the moon slid across the sun and blocked it out, people all over the room raised their cell phones to snap photos of the iconic images from the big screen and share them on social media.
NASA’s live coverage featured views from NASA research aircraft, high-altitude balloons, satellites and specially modified telescopes. It also included live reports from Charleston, S.C.; Salem, Ore.; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Beatrice, Neb.; Jefferson City, Mo.; Carbondale, Ill.; Hopkinsville, Ken.; and Clarksville, Tenn. as the eclipse traveled across the country.
Outdoors, kids, adults and senior citizens “oohed” and “aahed” as they tried out the eclipse sunglasses to watch the eclipse taking place with their own eyes.
“The thing that gave me so much joy was being able to share [the glasses] with everyone,” Mark Grasso, who brought the glasses said, “It’s so beautiful and powerful to see such a natural phenomenon; and it makes you reflect on global warming and how important the planet is to all of us. We need to be responsible stewards and caretakers of this place we call home.”
While some were fascinated by the pure science of the event—having the clearest ever views of the sun’s corona and solar flares—others expressed deep thoughts about the cosmos and the universe, and the unifying force of the common, shared experience.
Rabbi Judith HaLevy, who had the original idea for the community eclipse watching event, said the eclipse was a unifying event.
“It’s an unprecedented opportunity for us to go beyond our divisions of race, sex and political party to something greater than ourselves,” HaLevy said. “By opening this up to the community, we open the doors of this sanctuary for a reminder of our universal consciousness. We’re just co-creatures in the cosmos despite our divisions—we’re ultimately all one.
“And when I opened this up to the community, I didn’t expect 300 reservations!” she laughed.
Two young members of the audience, Dylan and Zoe Garber, attended with their grandmother. When asked why they came, Dylan, a sixth grader, said, “I’m into Mars and maybe I’ll see it, and I like stars and constellations.” His little sister Zoe, in second grade said, “I wanted to see the eclipse because it’s pretty.”
According to NASA, the last total solar eclipse that went from coast to coast in the U.S. occurred in 1918. “This is a window into the universe, a monumental historical and celestial event,” one of the reporters said to the audience.
“It was very cool, and it was a great event—very exciting, and everyone was happy about it,” Barry Cohn, who attended the event, said after viewing the eclipse.
If you missed this eclipse, the next one in the U.S. happens in just seven years, on April 8, 2024. It will take a diagonal path from Texas to Maine, according to NASA, with total eclipses happening in Austin, Dallas, Little Rock, Indianapolis, Toledo, Cleveland, Akron, Buffalo, Rochester, Montpelier and Montreal.
