North Jersey looks toward the sky as the moon partially eclipses the sun

They craned their necks at the sky wearing wacky glasses with cardboard frames. They toasted the sun in the early afternoon with specialty cocktails. They wriggled in celebratory dance at a local gym.

North Jersey residents congregated in myriad locations Monday afternoon to embrace a celestial sensation and catch a glimpse of the first total solar eclipse to entertain the contiguous United States since 1979.

But although that solar eclipse mesmerized merely a few states in the Pacific Northwest, Monday’s total eclipse was visible to millions of people in an arc of 14 states from Oregon to South Carolina. And while North Jersey didn’t quite get the full treatment, it did get to see as much as 75 percent of the sun obscured at the peak of the eclipse around 2:45 p.m. as the moon slid in front of it.

To embrace the moment, some people attended viewing parties at an array of local libraries, from Oakland to Ridgewood and Teaneck, where they watched a livestream of the eclipse.

Others, including campers at the Wyckoff YMCA, celebrated with a dance party.

Some locals bellied up to the bar at the Blue Moon Cafés in Wyckoff and Englewood to hoist drinks concocted especially for the day. Still others sought out natural spaces, like the Great Falls in Paterson, to watch the eclipse unfold.

What follows are some vignettes that depict the many ways North Jersey residents experienced Monday’s eclipse.

Oakland

When the library ran out of eclipse sunglasses Monday, some 200 gawkers stepped up to share turns gazing at the partially obstructed sun.

“You gain a certain amount of perspective watching this group. It’s a community thing, and they came here to experience it together,” Marina Pappas said. “Given the experiences we’ve had around the country lately, it’s good to see everyone come together and making it work.”

Pappas was standing next to Michael Schwartz, an Oakland EMT, who had given up his glasses to a group who arrived for the 2 p.m. event only to find that the glasses had been given out by 1:30 p.m.

“I’m just hoping everyone is following the precautions and not staring directly at the sun,” said Schwartz.

Justin and Jordan Azar, recent graduates from Indian Hills High School, said their aunt had called and told them to come to the gathering.

"It’s the grandeur of nature,” Jordan said as they stood with a family group sharing glasses.

J.P. Thrower of Oakland was one of several in the crowd using their eclipse glasses as a filter over a cellphone lens to capture the partially obstructed sun with its camera.

“I remembered when I was in the third grade we had a partial eclipse and studied it at school,” said Thrower. “I wanted my kids to experience it, too. It’s also been good to come together and celebrate something as a community.”

— Marsha A. Stoltz

Fair Lawn

While everyone else was outside gazing at Monday's sky during the eclipse, members of the 61-year-old Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club were tuning in with their ears.

For the amateur radio operators, the solar eclipse was more than a rare visual experience. It offered an opportunity for determining how the eclipse affects radio waves in the atmosphere.

Radio amateurs throughout the country — from New Jersey to Wyoming — tuned in to the eclipse as part of a national research project studying its effects on the Earth's ionosphere, a region of electrically charged gas and particles that reflects radio waves about 50 miles above the surface.

The data gathered by the radio aficionados will be shared with researchers from NJIT and Virginia Tech University, who were among the sponsors of the Solar Eclipse QSO party.

Throughout the day Monday, the Fair Lawn group and other clubs like them sent out call signals in the hope of making as many contacts as possible with other radio operators and keeping track of the data.

"A solar eclipse gives a rare opportunity to see how the ionosphere changes its ability to carry radio signals. Scientists want to understand these changes and what the effects are of the eclipse on the ionosphere," said Ed Efcheck, the club's spokesman. "We're making a contribution to the scientific community."

The Fair Lawn club, which is 130 members strong, was among hundreds of groups nationwide that were broadcasting Monday to see how the radio band changed. The data were collected in real time.

Tom Stefanic, who was manning the radios in the Fair Lawn club's station, noted that he was able to communicate with stations that were farther away than usual. By 11 a.m., he had already exchanged signals with radio operators from as far away as Arizona and California.

— Deena Yellin

Paterson

At the Great Falls in Paterson, hundreds donned 3-D sunglasses so they could watch the day go from bright to dim and share a few cosmic thoughts as the moon made its way between the Earth and the sun. 

The National Park Service cranked up the Pink Floyd and and a tie-dye-clad Lynn Millinger of Bloomfield poked her head to the sky at 2:40 p.m., the darkest part of what had been a steadily dimming afternoon. 

"I am totally in awe," Millinger said, pulling off her solar glasses. "I feel like a speck on a dot hurtling through the universe." 

The long line of kids waiting to get their solar glasses couldn't resist clanging the old iron bell in front of the observation deck, which added a foreboding vibe to the darkening sky. Park Ranger Ilyse Goldman had the difficult task of reminding people not to look directly at the thing they had come to look at.

"The eclipse is over us," she said at around 2:20 p.m. "The light is dimming, and this is pretty awesome. But don't look at the sun without your glasses!" 

She reminded the crowd that only about 70 percent of the sun would be blotted out. "We are not in the totality," she said. "But it is totally cool."  

Kevin Butler raced up the Garden State Parkway from Hazlet with his 15-year-old son, Sean, and 17-year-old daughter, Amanda, to see two natural wonders. It was the family's first time at the Great Falls, he said.

Dad was asked to ponder what it all means. He thought for a second. It was almost like we shouldn't be seeing this, he said. 

"I feel like if we look up at the sun, we'll turn into a pile of dust," he said. "Like something you would see in a science fiction movie." 

A short distance away, Celia Deza struck a meditative pose, eyes closed, arms outstretched, legs folded in the lotus position. There's no time like an eclipse "to get rid of the negative energy and put yourself in positive energy," she said. 

On the bridge overlooking the falls, 17-year-old Cesarin Jimenez peered up at the sky with his solar glasses just as the moon began to creep into view. "Right now, the sun looks like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup with a chunk eaten out," he reported. 

Jimenez, a student at Passaic County Community College, agreed that the eclipse made him feel small, but not entirely insignificant. 

"Are we really the only ones in the universe? It would be really dumb to think that," he said. "But just because I'm a small part doesn't mean that I don't have to do my part."

— Richard Cowen

Boonton

Denville's Ted Winsch, Sheep Hill Astronomical Association member, said he has never seen this kind of excitement over his hobby before.

The amateur astronomy club is in charge of running Boonton’s Sheep Hill Observatory and has about 40 family memberships.

In an effort to accommodate the interest, the association set up two sites for solar eclipse viewing, one at the observatory and the other in front of the library on Main Street.

He remained with the two solar eclipse telescopes on the sidewalk while other association members hosted visitors at the observatory.

A special filter in the 18-inch-mirror telescope allowed for safe viewing. The two telescopes on the sidewalk were solar telescopes.

“Surprisingly, the light through the telescopes is fairly dim, since so much of the light has to be blocked to make it safe for viewing,” he said. “People are surprised when they look through it, because they think it is going to be blinding. But it really isn’t.”

Winsch said there wasn’t much of a difference in the viewing experience at the two sites.

“The sun will look like a crescent in both,” he said. "Most people are probably not gonna even notice the difference."

Not many towns have their own observatory, the mayor said.

“As people, we get so focused on all that's happening in our individual lives that a cosmic phenomenon like this reminds us we're part of a much bigger universe," Mayor Matthew DiLauri said. “It's nice perspective.”

— Gene Myers

Bergen Community in Missouri

Physics Professor Paul Griffo and a group of Bergen Community College students traveled to Jefferson City, Missouri, to launch a balloon equipped to take pictures of the eclipse from the path of totality.

They hope to make a movie with the photos when they get back. The balloon should reach about 19 miles high before popping. The equipment will parachute down.

During the moments of totality, Griffo and his students were able to see Bailey’s beads. The planet Venus was also easily visible, and an eerie kind of twilight cast a pall over the entire event.

“The corona was amazing, and you could actually see the moon’s shadow toward the horizon,” Griffo said in a phone interview. “We actually felt like we were inside the shadow, because you could see where it wasn’t.”

The team launched the balloon at 11:35 a.m. Missouri time and waited for the totality at about 1:15 p.m.

“We have to wait to check the video, but there is a good chance we have something, Griffo said. "This is really just an opportunity that we will never forget because of the Bergen STEM program.”

Griffo described the experience as very impressive and moving. He said he felt excited and fortunate to be able to do it.

— Katie Sobko

Kinnelon

Scores of people were looking up Monday afternoon on the lawn outside of Kinnelon's library as they all came to take a gander at the partial eclipse.

Bob Vosatka, a retired Columbia University professor and geneticist from Kinnelon who's now learning radio astronomy, came to the library Monday afternoon with scores of other people prepared with special glasses and lounge chairs.

Vosatka recalled an eclipse he witnessed decades ago as a kid. At the time, the special glasses for viewing a solar eclipse didn't exist.

"There was a tree in front of my house, and the shadows from the tree just looked strange," he said. "It wasn't until decades later that I realized that what was happening was that each one of the little bright lights between the leaves was casting a shadow that was a little picture of the crescent that was the eclipse."

The Kinnelon library acquired 1,000 pairs of the special glasses through a grant. Librarians handed out 900 pairs and held 100 in reserve for those who intended to watch the eclipse outside the library.

"It's an event,” said Kathy Grotto of Butler, who came to watch the eclipse with a friend. “Look at the people who are enjoying it."

The pair got their glasses courtesy of the Butler library, which also received a grant for 1,000 pairs, library officials said. The Butler library ran out of glasses on Friday.

That was the fate of many North Jersey libraries, but word quickly spread that Kinnelon had a few in reserve for watchers providing they intended to watch the eclipse at the library.

That came as great news for Natalie Mirone of Pompton Lakes. She had bought some of the bogus eclipse glasses online.

"But it was too late to get new ones," she said. "This was the closest place."

— Matt Fagan

Teaneck

A long line snaked around the children’s room at the Teaneck Public Library as families waited to draw an eclipse with paper and chalk.

“Welcome to the chaos,” said children’s librarian Amy Sears. On a normal day, an afternoon craft project might draw about a dozen children, she said.

Judith Raymond of Teaneck looked on as her two children, Katelyne, who is 11, and Zachery, who is 7, worked on their art projects.

“I think this is an opportunity of a lifetime for them,” she said. “I’m very grateful the library is giving this chance to educate them and give them this experience.”

About 200 children and their parents had come to the library to make the craft project for the solar eclipse and get a pair of glasses to view the astronomical event.

More than 100 people stood in line outside of the library hoping to snag a pair of the glasses, which by last week were in short supply in stores and online.

Teaneck was one of 7,000 libraries across the United States chosen by NASA to receive the glasses. The library was given just 200 pairs for a township of about 40,000 residents.

“I knew we were in trouble when we had 91 phone calls on Saturday asking about the glasses,” said Michael McCue, the library’s director. “This morning we turned the phones off at 9:20, they were ringing so much. I knew we were going to be overwhelmed by the demand.”

Outside on the municipal green, people gathered to watch the eclipse. Brent Riddick and Alexandra Figueroa sat on a blanket with their 3-year-old daughter, Brooklyn, taking turns to look through the glasses.

“This is the first one in our lifetime, and it’s special that we’ll get to experience it with her,” Figueroa said. “It’s exciting that we’ll get to see it as a family together.”

— Megan Burrow

Belleville

Wearing glasses with solar filters, about 250 people gazed at the eclipse through the skylight of Belleville’s public library on Monday.

The library had bought 1,000 pairs of glasses and given away around 800 of them before the event, said library Director Michelle Malone. It left some people at the gathering to share their shades with fellow viewers.

Vincent Calleo, 54, recalled the last time he saw an eclipse, he was around the age of his daughter, 11-year-old Marino, who was sitting next to him at the library.

“I used one of those little boxes with a hole on it,” Calleo said. “You could see a little part of it.”

The library also provided a telescope with a solar filter for residents to take turns peering through while popcorn and cookies were handed out, and visitors on the first floor watched news coverage of the eclipse on TV.

Holding up the solar glasses to her eyes, 45-year-old Belleville resident Arlene Lopez called out: “I see it. I see it. I see It.”

The library’s head of children’s services, Shauntarria Owens, wore tights with a celestial design for the occasion and helped residents with the telescope.

Diana Lelinho, 36, of Belleville brought her two children, Mila, 5, and Isabella, 7.

“It looks like a big, fat, chunky banana,” Isabella said, while peering at the eclipse from behind her glasses at around 2 p.m.

Other children colored solar designs with crayons while songs from the '80s band The Police played.

Malone, who previously headed up the children’s department at the library, said she had anticipated the eclipse as far back as last year.

The large turnout offered the library the opportunity to showcase some of its summer programming, she said, calling the viewing “fantastic.”

— Matt Kadosh

Hackensack

In the sun-bathed courtyard of Johnson Public Library were a lucky few who managed to get their hands on a pair of the solar glasses that were distributed by the library. In the basement sat the overflow, where everyone got to watch the livestream of the eclipse.

Although the 137 pairs of solar glasses were all handed out, the courtyard was abuzz with people sharing their pairs to catch a glimpse of the rare cosmic event.

“I think I heard about it a week and a half ago,” said Ken Almeida of Paterson. “I don’t ever remember seeing a solar eclipse, and I don’t know the next time I’ll see one.”

Some visitors, like Linda Jones, had traveled across the Hudson River to get a good spot to watch the eclipse.

“I couldn’t find a place where I’d be able to see it outdoors,” said Jones, of Queens. “This was a definite. So, OK, I’m coming here!”

Jones had managed to get her hands on a pair of the coveted glasses and was excited she got to see another eclipse, as she had in 1979.

“All of this is fascinating,” said Jones. “It’s crazy that it’s happening. That’s really cool.”

The library director, Sharon Castanteen, was relieved that although the glasses had all been handed out, everyone was sharing.

“This community is beautiful,” said Castanteen. “Everyone’s getting along. Nobody is getting frustrated. Everyone is sharing the glasses.”

While the party was meant to highlight the solar event, the day was used as a reason to get together for a few hours under the sun.

“I think this is a great way to get people together,” Jess Cruz said as she sat on the library lawn, a pair of solar glasses on her head. “Yeah, social media is involved to let people know where it is. But this is an event where you can’t look at the sun through your phone, even through glasses. So it’s just one of those things you have to be there to experience.”

— Rodrigo Torrejon

Glen Rock 

 Ambling outside a local church Monday afternoon wearing dark glasses, they resembled patients recently released from a mass cataract surgery.

In fact, it was the Glen Rock Astronomy Group, part of the borough's activity club, who convened that afternoon to get a glimpse of the eclipse.

With the help of 20 or so pairs of solar viewing glasses, provided by the group's chairman, Ron Greenberg, attendees watched the sun take a crescent form as the moon covered approximately 71 percent of its surface.

"When I see that, I realize how minuscule we are in a large universe," said Councilman Skip Huisking, who rode over to the Community Church of Glen Rock on his bike to join the astronomy club's viewing party.

An engineer by trade, Huisking couldn't help but offer his own calculations. "Right now, it's almost reaching its peak," he said at about 2:35 p.m. "I think 70 percent is a little optimistic. Looks more like 60 percent to me."

Huisking was far from the only engineer in the small crowd of 20 or so residents. Ben Meyer, who sits on the local environmental commission and is a retired engineer, jury-rigged a pair of binoculars with a piece of plastic from a set of special solar viewers over one lens.

"You can get a closer look," said resident Rubin Galper after he took a peek through Meyer's binoculars.

In a stroke of serendipity, the astronomy group had been founded only four months ago. With the next total eclipse over the U.S. expected to occur in 2024, it was certainly kismet for area science geeks.

"Yeah, it was pretty coincidental," said Harry Nass of Fair Lawn, who is also an engineer and regular at the astronomy group.

Howard Peskoe recalled watching an eclipse using a pinhole camera in a cardboard box when he was a boy.

Asked how it compared to seeing the sun consumed by celestial shadow with his own eyes, he said, "I don't know, I must've been 12." Looking at the ISO-certified eclipse glasses in his hands, he added, "They probably hadn't invented these cellophane things yet."

— Nicholas Katzban

Oh! If you missed out on the extraterrestrial event, no worries. You’ll only have to wait another seven years — until April 8, 2024 — for the next total solar eclipse to entertain the country. On that day, the area experiencing the total eclipse will run from Texas to Maine, including upstate New York near Buffalo — even closer to North Jersey than Monday’s heavenly display.