The 4-8-2024 Solar Eclipse that Fizzled! (published 4-8-2024; article #463)

Introduction

Turning the page from the previous article today, this is a quick commentary about today's solar eclipse that fizzled.

As I start to write, the time is after 5 PM. The sun just broke through the clouds! It's so ironic!

The Hype

For weeks, practically every media outlet has built up the hype about the partial solar eclipse that happened earlier today. I became tired of it.

As an example, this article references “Watch Live: The Great American Eclipse has started! If you miss it, you're going to have to wait at least two decades to get another chance to see one in the U.S.” WBIR-TV, by Tom Barclay, 4/8/2024. The first two paragraphs are as follows:

Today is the day! A partial solar eclipse will pass over East Tennessee!

If you miss it, you're going to have to wait at least two decades to get another chance to see one in the U.S., because the next total solar eclipse in the contiguous U.S. will be in 2044!

Several school systems let out early, so children could be home, to watch the eclipse. Special glasses, made in China, were being sold or given away. Eclipse-watching venues were held. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman's school system let out early. She arrived home, with two pair of special glasses.

The partial eclipse was supposed to be at its maximum, 88%, about 3:07 PM. The eclipse started at 1:49 PM. It ended at 4:23 PM.

The Fizzle

The clouds fizzled out the hype! The sky was completely cloudy, until just after 5 PM. My “long-suffering” wife took the following photograph at 3 PM, on the dot.

She was facing southwest, looking up. That's a nice view of the power lines! That corner of the gutter doesn't need to be cleaned out, by the way.

I joined my wife. A light drizzle was falling. Molly was resting in her basement condominium. We went back inside, to dust, sweep, and vacuum.

Conclusion

How many folks were disappointed by the media hype that fizzled? I was not one of them. Will there be a new malady, called Eclipse Hype Syndrome (EHS)? Will pharmaceutical companies invent a pill to treat EHS?

Don't buy into media hype, y'all! Don't swallow their pill!