For a brief time, from sea to shining sea, the Great American Solar Eclipse brought neighbors, office workers, strangers and citizens together to stare at the moon moving in front of the sun to cast a powerful shadow.
The shadow of totality — from Oregon to Nebraska and Illinois and onto Kentucky and South Carolina — had some holding their breath at what was truly an awesome spectacle. In the zones of partiality, which included Washington, D.C., the scene was not quite the showstopper.
Nevertheless, from around 1 to 3 p.m., on Monday, Aug. 21, those in the nation’s capital looking to the heavens were quietly thrilled when they spied the eclipse, after putting on the proper sunglasses. People freely shared the glasses with those who did not have them and enjoyed the celestial coincidence together. And then it was over.
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Thousands gathered along the National Mall in Washington D.C. to watch a solar eclipse through special viewing glasses on Monday, August 21, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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Gail Singer of Olney Md gazes at the solar eclipse through a telescope provided by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. She was among thousands who gathered along the National Mall in Washington D.C. to watch a solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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Eclipse viewers at Washington Harbour at the Georgetown waterfront. Photo by Robert Devaney.
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Eclipse viewers near the House of Sweden at the Georgetown waterfront. Photo by Robert Devaney.
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The eclipse as seen from a telescope on the banks of the Potomac River in Georgetown. Courtesy Peggy Sands.
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Tiffany and Aiden Bernier were among thousands gathered along the National Mall in Washington D.C. to watch a solar eclipse through special viewing glasses on Monday, August 21, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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A solar eclipse flare within Jefferson Court in Georgetown. Photo by Robert Devaney.
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Eclipse viewer at Washington Harbour at the Georgetown waterfront. Photo by Robert Devaney.
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Eclipse viewers at Washington Harbour at the Georgetown waterfront. Photo by Robert Devaney.