Last weekend I flew out to Cleveland to visit @eaves and see the eclipse from totality. Every time I try to describe the experience I find myself writing and deleting and rewriting because words feel insufficient. It's hard to imagine anything being more beautiful and surreal - the chill, the stillness of the air, the eerie way that the birds and insects go quiet, the way color seems to partially drain from the world replaced by dappled shadows and orange and purple dusky skies at the horizon in all directions, and then, above it all, the black marble of the sun and it's crown of light and vivid jewels.
The chances that we could be alive to see this - the chances that the moon is just large enough and just far enough away to block out the sun perfectly - are so, so minuscule. Yet here we are. Gods or stars or spirits or whatever you place belief in, here we are.
Photo was taken on an old iphone through a 40mm eyepiece in my C6 telescope