If you live under the proverbial rock and somehow missed the hype about the April 8 solar eclipse, here’s why the event was a news maker.

Eclipses occur when the moon begins to align with the sun over the earth, casting a shadow over the world and mesmerizing many. Full solar eclipses actually occur every one to three years. However, as noted by CBS News, they are “usually visible only from Earth’s poles or from the middle of the ocean,” making them rare events for most people. For example, CBS notes that according to NASA, the April 8 eclipse was the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous U.S. until August 2044.

Although eclipses make the world darker, watching them without protective glasses can harm the eyes and even cause permanent damage to one’s vision, requiring the use of special solar glasses. For last week’s eclipse, that meant some people missed out on the event.

“I was looking forward to watching the eclipse, but everywhere I went had sold out of the glasses,” said FCHS junior Brian Bauer.

When the day of the eclipse arrived, many Fluvanna residents, including teens who were home for an extended spring break, began eagerly awaiting the celestial moment. As the moon began covering the sun beginning around 2 pm, it looked like a great opportunity for viewing. However, by the time the moon began reaching its peak around 3:10 pm, clouds began to cover the sky.

“I was watching the eclipse with my family and was left upset with the ending, but happy with the beginning,” said senior Aidan Overweg. Others were able to experience the entire thing. “I really enjoyed the eclipse, especially while watching the moon completely cover the sun,” said junior Bridget Kirchner.

Some people became frantic and thought that the eclipse signaled the arrival of some unforeseen, negative event. Others were scared by media hype about potential blindness from looking at the eclipse and refused to go outside.

“While I was grocery shopping with my family, there were people frantically stocking up on groceries, just like when the beginning of Covid happened,” said sophomore Megan Drumheller.

For those who prepared and wanted to see something that won’t happen again from another two decades, it was a successful day.

“It’s quite interesting learning about all the things the world can do and the sights it has to offer,” said junior Hayley Marshall.