The 2024 Solar Eclipse

Sodus Point has been waiting for 99 years for a total solar eclipse to come to our village. The last one occurred in 1925. Now it was coming once more on April 8, 2024 at 3:21 pm and we were to be near the middle of the 70 mile wide path of totality!

The excitement as this day approached was palpable. Many organizations in Sodus Point and the surrounding area made plans. Some were for fun and some were for fund raising. This enthusiasm was curbed somewhat by the long-term weather data from this day of the year which showed we had about a 50% chance of good weather. People waited with high hopes and yet also a touch of trepidation. What would the weather be at the time of the eclipse was the question on everyone’s mind.

The day before the eclipse was a nearly perfect cloudless day and the day after would also be nearly perfect. On the days leading up to the eclipse, the weather forecast predicted a cloudy day during the afternoon hours of April 8th. many of us feared the worse and finally the day arrived….

Different Perspectives of the Eclipse:

Sodus Bay Heights

By Bruce Farrington

The morning of April 8th started with partially cloudy skies and high wispy clouds. This was acceptable but would it stay that way? The weatherman said no. As the morning approached noon, it got increasing overcast and with 2 hours to go it was fully overcast. At this point, if you caught a glimpse of the sun, it was at best fleeting.

Yes it was a cloudy day for the eclipse in Sodus Point but I did record totality and it getting dark for posterity using a GoPro camera as a 360 movie. You can watch it as a standard movie on your PC, tablet, phone etc. or if you want the ultimate experience of being there, watch it with a VR headset. When you watch it click the tool icon to get the highest quality resolution since for some reason YouTube defaults to a lower resolution. Remember this is a 360 panoramic movie so you can move 360 degrees when viewing it. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDSCFC7s5Cg

Ontario Beach Parking Lot

By Daniel Liut

A large crowd had gathered at the beach and in the adjoining parking lot to watch the Eclipse. There is excitement in the air despite the cloudy skies. Daniel Luit took a 6 minute video of the event. This is not a 360 video but he rotates the camera around to catch the view from all the directions. Listen carefully as you can hear a small boy say “this is the best 4 minutes o f my life!!”…

Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILltjuxA9s4

The Ballpark

By Travel Walker 4K

Another crowd gathered at the Ballpark to watch the eclipse. This view shows the fireworks that were set off.

Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeamKPUyliY

The Pier Light

By Marina Crider

One of the cool and unique things about the eclipse that few people had considered was that due to the eclipse path being from Texas to New York, this would be the only time (as totality approached) in our lives that we would first see a sunset in the Northeast and as it departed we would see a sunrise in the southwest.

Marina Crider caught the sunset in the Northeast (from the beach with the pier light in the forefront) perfectly in this beautiful photograph:

On the Beach

By Laurie Fowler

With the sun behind the clouds, the Lake Ontario beach was the perfect place to witness totality approaching and departing as well as the sunset in the northeast and the sunrise in the southwest in these stunning photographs by Laurie Fowler….

At the Lighthouse (Before Totality)

By Tom Plantz

One of the focal points for eclipse watching was at the lighthouse. This event was to be a fund raiser and the planning and advertising had begun months earlier and a large crowd was expected.