Marcy, JB and Michaela Sless view the total eclipse Monday, April 8 from the Ventnor boardwalk.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – Downbeach residents took to the Ventnor City Boardwalk Monday afternoon to watch the near-total eclipse of the sun.
For JB Sless it was the second such global event to be enjoyed with a loved one.
“This is the second eclipse at the beach I got to enjoy with my daughter,” he said.
Michaela Sless of Margate joined her father and Marcy Sless to view the spectacle sitting on the boardwalk in front of the Ventnor Fishing Pier.
“It’s definitely better than 2017 because it’s not as cloudy and there’s more totality,” she said.
not seen in totality worldwide, as each is visible from a limited viewing area. The total solar eclipse differs from other types of eclipses in that the new moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, completely blocking out its rays.
Millions of Americans flocked to the middle of the country to sit in the narrow shadow and see the 100% totality of the eclipse. Eclipses are a common astrological event, but not seen in totality worldwide, as each is visible from a limited viewing area. The total solar eclipse differs from other types of eclipses in that the new moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, completely blocking out its rays.
Heeding the warning not to look at the sun during the eclipse because it could damage the eyes, most spectators wore paper dark glasses that completely block the view of everything but the sun.
Sless viewed the eclipse wearing the same pair of paper eclipse glasses he wore during Michaela’s first eclipse in 2017.
Donna and Bill Drew of Cape May view the eclipse from the Ventnor boardwalk.
Donna and Bill Crew of Cape May agreed the view was “awesome.”
“This will be memorable to me because it’s my godson’s and my best friend’s birthday today, and I get to spend the day with my husband of 40 years,” Donna Drew said. “We are all experiencing the same thing at the same time.”
“It’s just so impressive, like wow,” Mikko Alanne of Ventnor said.
His husband was excited to be able to hear from friends from other parts of the country texting and sending pictures from middle-America, where the eclipse caused about 4 minutes of darkness in the middle of the day.
“A friend of ours saw it in Dallas where they had totality. You should see the amazing photos she sent,” Ari Solomon said. “This is a great spot to view it too. The wide open beach and unobstructed view of the sky is perfect for it.”
Mikko Alanne and Ari Solomon of Ventnor look at the sun wearing protective eyewear.
Some expressed a little disappointment that it didn’t get very dark when the moon totally blocked out the sun – just enough to turn on a few automatic headlights and a streetlight or two.
“I thought it would get darker, but they said the difference between 95- and 100-percent totality is huge,” Solomon said.
Rick and Susan Peterson of Ventnor, who have been married for 53 years, said watching the eclipse was a great way to spend and afternoon outdoors on the boardwalk.
“I’m glad to have been able to see it at all,” Rick Peterson said.
Rick and Susan Peterson of Ventnor watch as the moon blocks out the sun’s rays.
He is currently in remission from having bone cancer of the hip, “so I’m glad I got to see it,” he said.
“We are so glad to be able to come up here on the boardwalk to watch it,” his wife said.
The next time a total eclipse of the sun will be visible in North America will be March 30, 2033.
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