Some Decorah residents traveled out of town to view the solar eclipse

The view of the eclipse from Eugene, Oregon (Courtesy of Randy Olson of Decorah)

Luther College Associate Dean and Director of Faculty Development Jeff Wilkerson experienced Monday's solar eclipse from Fort Robinson, Nebraska, a location that experienced just over a minute of totality.

He describes the experience as, "A slow-developing event with light fading gradually until near totality when things started changing rapidly. In some ways it seemed like sunset with a gloominess of dusk and a glow on the horizon, but the light was not as soft, and it was bluer than it gets at dusk and dawn. Then, suddenly the sun was gone and it was dark like a moonlit night. We could see the milky glow of the corona around the eclipsed disk of the sun. Very quickly the sun started to emerge and light returned to landscape. All in all it was a special event and I am very happy to have been able to see it."  

Wilkerson notes the next total eclipse--passing from Texas up through Maine on April 8th, 2024--will have a longer duration of totality than Monday's eclipse. He says, "I recommend people try to go see it if at all possible."

Meanwhile, Decorah resident Dr. Randy Olson experienced the total eclipse from Oregon--and sent a photo of the view from there.