250 gather at Atascadero Library to watch historic eclipse
More than 250 people gathered Monday morning at the Atascadero Library to witness the eclipse. Families, children, retirees and amateur astronomers packed the Atascadero Library parking lot with celestial displays of Earth, Saturn, Mercury, comets, supernovas, galaxies, spectrums, eclipses and more.
Cloud cover frustrated astronomers and onlookers, but shortly after 10 a.m. the clouds parted and presented a veiled view of the eclipse of the sun. It was the first total solar eclipse to sweep across America from coast to coast in 99 years.
Astronomers with the Central Coast Astronomical Society brought elaborate telescopes to share with interested citizens. They answered questions from young and old visitors. Some locals brought pinhole projectors made out of cereal or shoe boxes to safely view the phenomenon.
Although it wasn’t a perfect day for observing an eclipse, the clouds broke briefly to afford many enthusiasts with a great view of the moon eclipsing 70 percent of the sun.
