Do you know where you’ll be on April 8 at 3:20 p.m.? Many of us have made plans to gather with friends and don special eyewear. Schools will close as Rochester hosts a one-of-a-kind celebration. Thousands will travel to our area from far away just to be in the path of totality under Rochester’s first full solar eclipse in nearly 100 years!
Our city is situated to provide a perfect view of the eclipse, and experts are estimating up to half a million out-of-towners will be visiting our area. The predicted height of totality will happen at 3:20 pm., when the sky gets cool and dark, and the sun, moon, and Earth form a perfectly straight line. This syzygy, or alignment, blocks the solar light from reaching the Earth. The entire eclipse will last from 2:07 p.m. to 4:33 p.m. in Rochester.
According to the Haudeosaunee, the world’s oldest confederacy began under a solar eclipse. With the nations at war with one another, a man named Hiawatha attempted to unify the chiefs of the Oneida, Cayuga, Mohawk, Seneca, and Onondaga into one grand council. It was ultimately the voice of Jigonhsaseh that brought them all together. […]
585mag.com [March/April issue]