The total solar eclipse, seen in parts of the US, Mexico and Canada was a rare spectacle that was welcomed with cheers and applause.
The last time a total solar eclipse was seen in the US was in 2017 and the next one will be in 2044. That is why Trinity Gebhardt and Moises Ostina decided to make it one to remember by getting engaged with Niagara Falls as the backdrop and the solar eclipse as witness.
“It’s amazing,” said Trinity Gebhardt, “I can’t smile anymore than I’m smiling.” Moises Ostina joined her as they both jumped up and down with joy. “(I’m on) on top of the world. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while now.”
Neil Albstein and Michele Rosenblatt took it to another level, quite literally, as Neil proposed to Michele at 30,000 ft on board a flight full of ‘eclipse chasers’. “I could never come up with anything else so special to propose to her,” said Neil Albstein, a resident of New York, adding, “and I wanted it to be a once-in-a- lifetime experience, so it just seemed perfect to combine it.”
On the flight of eclipse chasers, many were heard saying, “Oh my god, It’s so pretty”, as they saw a very different view of the total solar eclipse from the skies.
Erin Perdue, who was on that flight summed up the experience. “It was incredible. Got to see the wonderful, beautiful eclipse. I got to see the moment of totality. Incredible.”
While the eclipse chasers saw a very different view of ‘totality’, near Niagara Falls, many enthusiastic people turned up wearing similar costumes to break a record and create a new one.
309 people turned up dressed as the sun in Ontario, to set a new Guinness World record for the largest group to wear solar costumes in one place. Before this, the previous record was set in 2020 by 287 participants in China. Guinness World Records Official Adjudicator Mike Marcotte announced what they were all waiting to hear. “I could say that the City of Niagara Falls, you are the new Guinness World Record.”
For many like Milli Twumasi from the US, it was an experience of a lifetime. “Oh, my God, it was really amazing. Yeah, it was an experience I’ve never felt before. When it got totally dark, I literally was like, screaming the whole time. I actually cried a little because it was, like, overwhelming. It was an amazing experience.”
