The eclipse had eyes to the sky in the Texas Hill Country

Regardless if you were camped out at Inks Lake State Park, outside of Burnet or if you were stuck in an office somewhere, the cosmic event at least for a moment made many people stop and look into the sky with amazement at the first total solar eclipse to cross most of the United States since 1918. There was a total solar eclipse on February 26, 1978 however, the only states to see much of it in totality were Washington state, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and North Dakota. This time around, the celestial event passed over 14 states, making it even more special.

Although the "path of totality was fairly narrow, stretching from Oregon to South Carolina and the view from here in the Hill Country was somewhere around 65-70%, still more than enough to make sky watchers awe and wonder at the sun for even a few moments in the early afternoon hours.

Researchers at NASA say that the eclipse traveled across the United states at a rate of about 1,500 mph. and for much of the Texas Hill Country it was not until shortly after 1 p.m. that the full effect could be felt.

When the eclipse started around 11:40 a.m. local time, most people could not even tell that there was something going on unless you looked at the sky through special solar eclipse glasses. But by 1:10 p.m. in Bertram, Texas which is situated about 40 miles Northwest of Austin, the sun had been diminished to look almost like you were wearing sunglasses and the change was more than obviously visible.

Official temperature readings in Burnet, Texas at Kate Craddock Field (KMBQ) officially held steady at around 87 degrees during the event however, San Antonio International Airport did officially see a 2 degree drop in temperature from 86 degrees to 84 degrees during the main time frame of the eclipse.

If you somehow missed this big event, you will not have to wait to terribly long for the next total solar eclipse in 2024. The path of totality should take it right across parts of Texas, which many are watching and waiting for with anticipation. The next time the celestial event will make the coast to coast rip however, will not be until 2045.