SALADO, Texas — Guests young and old from Central Texas, out of state and out of the country watched in awe as the moon passed in front of the sun on April 8, casting darkness over the area as a dazzling ring of fire blazed in the afternoon's darkened sky.
Even cloud cover couldn't cover up the incredible sight of the Total Solar Eclipse, even though it tried. Though the sky was overcast for much of the morning, the midnight sun emerged from the clouds numerous times to wild cheers from the crowd, including during the incredible moment of totality itself.
For over four minutes, the sun went black and the mid-afternoon was seemingly plunged into night, though several in attendance felt the time was much shorter.
"Absolutely wonderful," described Fred Barber, who had traveled in from Boston to witness the event. "Definitely worth it. No question I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"The eclipse was awe-inspiring, amazing," said another attendee to the event. "If you have the chance to witness it, you should. It was literally one of the greatest things ever."
Coming together to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime event were residents of Central Texas, visitors from out of the state and even from outside of the country.
Hundreds of visitors gathered together in places like Killeen, Waco, Temple and Salado to watch the total solar eclipse and enjoy the sense of community that came with sharing such a rare event.
At Barrow Brewing Company in Salado, hundreds of people gathered together to enjoy a local brew, some good company and an experience they may never get a chance to experience again.
Guests came in from as nearby as Killeen and Round Rock to as far away as France, Australia and beyond.
In addition to the eclipse, guests were also able to enjoy performances by two aerial dancers and several local bands and musicians.
Salado Cap Company, a local business that specializes in hats inspired by the Salado community, even created a special edition cap commemorating the special event.
"We've been really excited for the event," said Becky Maks, describing what the eclipse event meant to her and her partners in the company. "Not sure the next time I'll get to see one of these, if at all, but just being able to celebrate the moment, taking the experience, being with family and friends and putting some eclipse hats on people's heads."
The event drew in more than just casual skywatchers, however, with some guests, like Barber, there to witness their second or even third eclipse.
"Everybody's saying it's a once-in-a-lifetime event," Barber said. "For us, it'll be twice in a lifetime."
Barber had been lucky enough to also witness a total solar eclipse in Wyoming in 2017. He described the event as "absolutely spectacular" and "unimaginably good".
Barber and those he was traveling with had even created "eclipse hoods" for themselves out of paper bags and solar film, creating an almost space-helmet-esque viewing apparatus he said worked even better than the approved eclipse glasses.
Barber was far from the only expert visiting from out of town however, in fact, he was far from the farthest from home as well.
Dale Steedman traveled in from Byron Bay, Australia, and Christian Hennes, an astronomy hobbyist, was in town from France with his wife, who had taken him on the trip as a birthday present.
"We've watched a couple of eclipses before," Hennes told 6 News. "One in France in '99, one in Turkey in 2006." He said he also plans to watch the next eclipse in Spain in 2026.
"It's very special," Hennes said, describing the experience of seeing a total eclipse in person ahead of the big event. "It's frightening even, it's very frightening".
Hennes shared some of his eclipse expertise with 6 News, describing what kind of equipment he uses to capture it, what the experience of seeing one is like and even the changing conceptions of eclipses throughout history. To see the full interview, visit the link below.
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Hennes was one of the many people who brought their own equipment to film or capture images of the eclipse.
People like Donald Kearney brought full camera setups to capture what videos or images they could of totality.
"Hopefully this is going to be the greatest experience of our lives," Kearney told 6 News.
"I arrived in Houston overnight, and I knew I had to find somewhere nice to come and watch the eclipse, and here I am in a nice little town," said Steedman, who finally got a chance to witness an eclipse after years of wanting to. "Everyone says it's pretty life-changing, so I'm keen to experience that."
The United States space program was even represented in Salado, with Lara Kearney, a program manager for NASA's Artemis Program, in attendance, taking a break from sending America back to the moon at the Johnson Space Center.
"I've never seen an eclipse, especially a total eclipse, and to be able to experience it in person, in Texas, with my family is super exciting," Kearney said.
Total Solar Eclipse in Central Texas
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