The moon begins to pass over the sun during a partial solar eclipse, seen from Pittock Mansion in Portland, Ore., April 8, 2024. The eclipse could be seen sporadically through a moving cloud cover.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Donna Bestwick, left, watches the partial solar eclipse withe a friend at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, April 8, 2024. Oregon was not in the path of totality, and at the peak of the eclipse, the moon covered approximately 23 percent of the sun.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Elysia Swindell, left, and Daniel Deveau, center, use their mobile phones to view the partial solar ecllpse while watching at Pittock Mansion in Portland, Ore., April 8, 2024. Monday is also Deveau’s birthday, and he said it was “pretty cool to have a cosmic event” on his birthday.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Even the dinosaurs wore eye protection at a viewing event for the partial solar eclipse, at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, April 8, 2024.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
A viewing event for the partial solar eclipse, at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Though Oregon was not in the path of totality, an occasional view could be seen of the partial solar eclipse, seen from Pittock Mansion in Portland, Ore., April 8, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The moon partially covers the sun behind the Statue of Liberty during the total solar eclipse on the Liberty Island, Monday, April. 8, 2024, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura / AP
Skiers and hikers watch the total eclipse of the sun from the Appalachian Trail at the summit of Saddleback Mountain, Monday, April 8, 2024, near Rangeley, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from the summit of Saddleback Mountain, Monday, April 8, 2024, near Rangeley, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
A woman uses special glasses to watch the total solar eclipse from the beach in Luna Pier, Mich., Monday, April 8, 2024.
Paul Sancya / AP
Mississippi State legislative staffers use filtered glasses to view the partial solar eclipse on the steps of the state Capitol, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. Legislators, staff and the pages shared the filtered eclipse glasses to view the partial eclipse that peered through afternoon clouds.
Rogelio V. Solis / AP
A family watches the moon move in front of the sun from the Appalachian Trail near the summit of Saddleback Mountain, Monday, April 8, 2024, near Rangeley, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
Mackenzie Trumbull, left, and Kathy Trumbull pose for a picture as they gather to watch as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from at National Mall in Washington, Monday, April 8, 2024.
Jose Luis Magana / AP
Eclipse glasses are worn by a statue of George Washington on April 07, 2024, in Houlton, Maine.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Landscaper, Micah Beck, brought his telescope to OMSI so people could get a closer look, maybe even watching sunspots through the solar filter.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
A viewing event for the partial solar eclipse, at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, April 8, 2024.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
A viewing event for the partial solar eclipse, at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, April 8, 2024.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
A viewing event for the partial solar eclipse, at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, April 8, 2024.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Eclipse watchers could also view the event at the planetarium at OMSI.
/ OPB
Oregonians from all four corners of the state looked skyward Monday, to witness the solar eclipse — even though it was only partial.
In towns like Portland, where clouds blocked the view, they still gathered in their hundreds.
“It’s a phenomenon whether we saw a little tiny chunk or not,” said retiree Donna Bestwick, wearing eclipse glasses outside the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
“We’re just here to enjoy! It doesn’t happen very often and you’ve got to get out and do it.”
Bestick’s friend said it helped her place herself within the spinning arms of the solar system.
The event lasted just under two hours and looked substantially different across the state. While only 23% of the sun was blocked in Portland, 33% was missing in Jordan Valley, in Oregon’s southeastern-most corner.
OMSI’s director of space education, Jim Todd, said many watchers did not seem to care if it was cloudy. They could still catch a glimpse of the phenomena in between cloud breaks.
“People are fascinated with it,” Todd said. “They love to follow it and it’s also very rare.”
The turnout for this year’s eclipse was substantially smaller in Oregon than in 2017 when parts of the state had a full view of a total eclipse. The Associated Press reported that parts of the country with a full view of the celestial event experienced the traffic jams, packed hotels and excitement that comes with major eclipses.
Landscaper, Micah Beck, brought his telescope to OMSI so people could get a closer look, maybe even watching sunspots through the solar filter.
“I grew up in the shadows of pyramids in the Midwest, so archeological astronomy was the door to astronomy for me,” Beck said, referring to geological features near the Illinois-Missouri border.
He loves to see things that place him within the universe.
“I guess it’s like a navigation thing,” Beck said. “Knowing where you are, anywhere on the Earth, by the oldest map above us.”
NASA said the next total solar eclipse in the US will be in 20 years, on August 23, 2044.