Together Under The Sun

Sunlight through a pinhole projects a crescent formed by the moon eclipsing the sun.

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When I made my first visit to Yerkes Observatory in early January, it was to see The World's Tallest Glass Tree - which was constructed on-site as part of a holiday festival.  I missed the festival, but I at least got to see the tree before it was dismantled.

The institute has been dedicated to the study of astronomy since it opened its doors in 1897. It closed down in 2018, but in recent years it was donated by the University of Chicago to the Yerkes Observatory Future Foundation and restorations began both inside and out. The institute has been operational again since 2020.
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Unfortunately, the historic building wasn't open the day I went to see the tree, and I haven't been able to schedule time for one of their detailed tours.

So, when I saw that they were having an open house and a solar eclipse viewing event, I purchased a ticket and made the short trip south of Milwaukee to Williams Bay to witness the eclipse with about 300 others.

The World's Tallest Glass Tree on display at Yerkes Observatory in January 2024.

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At the open house, attendees were able to tour inside the observatory main floor library and other halls, and up the stairs to the Great Refractor - the world's largest refracting telescope.

The size of the telescope has to be seen to believed. Photos do not do it justice. The roof slides open, and the entire floor of the room becomes an elevator, which lifts up high enough so that a person can look through the eye piece to view the night sky light years away.

​Staff member, Dennis Kois, was on-hand to present details and answer questions about the grand telescope. He explained that you could not view the eclipse through the telescope as the heat from the direct sunlight would destroy it!

Staff member, Dennis Kois, presented details and answered questions about the Great Refractor.

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Having seen the Great Refractor, I headed down the corridor to a display on the opposite side of the building. There Ozzie Osbourn, an astronomer with Yerkes Observatory, was guiding visitors through a series of astronomical glass plates, used in an early form of photography capturing images of the night sky as far back as the late 1800's. The observatory maintains a collection of these plates in numbers somewhere near 180,000.  Impressive is an understatement.

Ozzie also had a small telescope set up, in reverse, to create an eclipse projector. He showed me how the sunlight would pass through the eye piece, and project onto a piece of paper, and the floor, showing the current stage of eclipse. He also demonstrated how to capture the light with your hands and shadow as well. Since I didn't have the high-tech gear for capturing a great image of the eclipse as it appeared in the sky, these reflective versions were really unique options.

One of the early glass plates of a solar eclipse from the Yerkes Observatory collection.

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After checking out the scene indoors, I headed out to the south lawn viewing area. Folks were gathered, some on blankets or lawn chairs, eclipse viewing glasses on, watching the progress as the moon traveled further across the sun.

Eclipse enthusiasts gathered on the lawn, solar glasses on, to watch the progress of the eclipse.

Others watched demonstrations of kitchen colanders, cereal box pinhole viewers, and a DIY wooden Sunspotter device, all used to view projections of the eclipse, no special glasses needed.

Attendees gathered to see demonstrations of alternate eclipse viewing methods.

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​So, did you see the eclipse? Based on my Instagram feed, lots of people did - people in Wisconsin, across the United States, and the world. Even if it wasn't viewable in totality everywhere, they still ventured outside to witness it.  An opportunity that won't come again until 2044.

From backyards to lakefronts, local parks and nature centers to libraries and parking lots, people traveled to locations where it could be viewed in totality (fully eclipsed), like Texas, Missouri, and Ohio, or stayed closer to home and viewed a partial eclipse. ​

A tiny crescent - the eclipse from the view of my smartphone.

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I wandered over to a spot in front of one of the building gardens, put on my glasses and looked up. The woman next to me remarked how amazing it was that so many people across the world were looking up at the same time, under the sun, witnessing this marvelous event, together.

​Her comment, along with the view of the growing dark sphere above the earth, gave me goosebumps. 

Looking up in amazement.

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Together under the sun, at Yerkes Observatory. Solar Eclipse 2024.

As the sphere grew bigger, and the sky grew darker, the birds, which were singing up a storm a few minutes prior, went quiet. Someone announced that we were at maximum totality for Wisconsin, and the crowd cheered and applauded.

I took off my glasses for a minute and looked out at the landscape. It wasn't as deep as night, but the colors were richer, like golden hour. I put the glasses back on and watched a few minutes more.

Then, as the light began to brighten,  the birds began, again, to sing.

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