Queens takes in the solar eclipse
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Queens kids and residents check out the rare solar eclipse at Athens Square in Astoria. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
Queens residents got a rare celestial view on Monday afternoon as around 90 percent of the borough’s view of the sun was covered by the moon.
The much talked about North American Solar Eclipse made its way through the skies over the Word’s Borough on Monday giving locals views that won’t be seen in the area again for more than half a century.
Across the borough and the city, New Yorkers stepped out of school and work to look up at the sky with approved eclipse-safe eyewear and enjoyed the eclipse, the likes of which won’t be above the five boroughs until 2079.
Queens locals at Athens Square in Astoria look up and enjoy the solar eclipse. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
A solar eclipse, the rare occurrence where the moon passes in front of the sun, temporarily darkening the daytime sky around 3:25 p.m.
Locals went out to the sidewalks to check it out, and large groups gathered in parks like Hoyt Playground and Athens Square in Astoria.
“It’s crazy,” said Valeriana Palmieri, an Astoria resident who borrowed his eclipse glasses from an Eagle reporter. “It's my first time, it's so different.”
Ena Kranjec was visiting New York City from England, and had a rather unique New York experience this week, witnessing a solar eclipse and being shaken by an earthquake days before. Nonetheless, the events did not’ shake her ability to have a good time.
“It was really amazing, and we really loved the city,” Kranjec said.
Angie Ramgoolam was ecstatically looking through glasses on an Astoria sidewalk, and remembered her first eclipse experience as a small girl in Guyana.
“We were so excited,” she said.
Now, she was incredibly excited to witness another here in Queens.
The solar eclipse was viewed across the city and several states, and even on train platforms. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
“Oh my god,” she said. “It's super cool.”
