The solar eclipse began shortly after 1 p.m. and over the next three hours the moon crossed the face of the sun.
The next total eclipse across the U.S. will occur April 8, 2024, when Ohio locations will experience totality.
Here are some who experienced the eclipse Monday at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton:
Ezra Johnson, 10, Franklin
“It’s great. I can already see the moon moving in front of the sun. It’s exciting. At first I didn’t think it was. But now just looking at it makes me think it is exciting.”
Vanessa Bowling, 37, Springboro
“It’s something to share with my kids that they will remember forever. It doesn’t happen very often. Hopefully they don’t lose their eyesight! It’s been a couple weeks we’ve been excited to see it. We took them out of school early so they could come and enjoy it.”
Connor Egloff, 11, Dayton
“I enjoy watching the sun and the stars. It’s a lot of fun. I just enjoy looking at space because it’s really breathtaking and how cool some of the thing up there are. I really like seeing other planets because they are different from ours which makes them unique. I just like to wonder what is on the stars”
Jason Heaton, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery director of astronomy
“We are seeing the solar system in motion ... Usually in the sky we don’t see things move very fast. But this is something where over the course of three hours you can watch the moon pass in front of the sun. This is a great way to educate people and we have multiple activities going on, including indirect ways to view the eclipse – safe, fun ways.”
Zoe Negassi, 7, Beavercreek
“I was planning to do it school but we came here because mom said there would be fun activities ... We learned all about the solar eclipse in school. We learned that when the moon goes in front of the sun that makes a shadow. You can go to so many places you can see it really, really good like a full solar eclipse. This is my first.”
Mark J. Meister, president and CEO of the Dayton Society of Natural History
“It’s exactly what we try to do at the (Boonshoft) museum is present that spark. This is called free choice learning. No one had to come here. This isn’t school. You came here because you’re interested and you wanted to learn about it. I am sure there are young people here today who will be interested in following careers in science as a result of this type of experience.”
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