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Locals and visitors enjoy spectacle in the sky in Sikeston
SIKESTON — Even before the moon began to cover the sun on Monday, April 8 in Sikeston, John and Christie Maras of Jacksonville, Tennessee, were preparing to witness their second total solar eclipse in less than seven years.
The couple arrived late Sunday at the Hampton Inn in Sikeston where they set up lawn chairs Monday on the parking lot’s edge and had snacks and drinks ready while they waited for the total solar eclipse to reach totality starting at 1:58 p.m.
“This is a gorgeous town,” John Maras said as he sat in a chair behind his vehicle.
The husband and wife each wore eclipsed-themed but different T-shirts. Hers read: “Twice in a Lifetime” with boxes by the dates, Aug. 21, 2017, and April 8, 2024, checked off while his read: “Hello Darkness, My Old Friend” and depicted an elcipse overlooking a lake and wilderness.
As the couple, along with several other families who were staying at the hotel and taking the eclipse experience in, waited for the moon to block the sun, they explained Paducah, Kentucky, was actually the first city on their radar for this eclipse.
“I went online and found Sikeston because of the totality time,” Mrs. Maras said. “We migrated here (to Sikeston) because their totality didn’t last as long (in Paducah), and, quite frankly, I didn’t want to go to a big town.”
Maras agreed, saying Sikeston looked like a fit for them.
“I tell you,” he said. “It exceeded all of our expectations.” He also praised the hotel staff for making them feel comfortable during their stay.
John and Sonja Fertig of Marietta, Georgia, also took advantage of the space outside the Sikeston hotel due to the “easy setup” for his camera and telescope. They, too, were in the path of totality during the 2017 eclipse when they were in Spring City, Tennessee.
John Fertig, who is a principal engineer at Home Depot, said he’s been doing astrophotography as a hobby for four or five years. On Monday, he used solar panels to power his equipment prior to the eclipse.
“Astrophotography is very very hard to do,” Fertig said. “That’s somehting I found out as I started to get into the hobby. First, I did visual and then because my eyes aren’t all that good, I went to assisted. They call it assisted because you use cameras on the telescope so you can see what you’re looking at. I’ve done a couple pictures that are pretty good, but it just takes time. It’s a very hard thing to do.”
Fertig said the initial contact phase of the eclipse was slated to start at 12:41 p.m.
“Until you get to the second contact, which is the full eclpse, right during the start of it, there will be a phase called Baily’s beads which where if you can see it, it’s like it’s lit up around the sun and you can see prominences (red bursts) and beads of light around the sun,” Fertig said.
Then right after that, there will be the diamond ring effect where it looks like a “blob light” or a diamond ring on the side of the sun.
“And the third phase is full. and you’ll be able to see the corona,” he said. “Watch that and then it goes to the end of it where you get the diamond ring effect when it’s leaving and then it’s the partial eclipse.”
Hopefully, Fertig said, he’ll be able to get photos of all the phases.
“The main thing is that you can’t forget that you’re looking at an eclipse,” Fertig said. “So, when we went last time, I set up a couple telescopes for that one as well. What I did was I just started shooting a bunch of pictures during the partial phases, and then I did a bunch of shots, just click, click, click, click, click — and changed my exposures and tried to get the right exposure on it — and then we watched.”
And if he doesn’t get any “good” photos, Fertig said he’ll be fine. It is what it is, he said. What’s important is not to miss the actual moment, he said.
Annabelle Thompson, 14, of Cornith, Mississippi, who was viewing the eclipse with her family outside at the Hampton Inn, relaxed in a chair as she waited. She said she remembered the 2017 eclipse.
“I’m just excited to see it again,” the teenager said, adding it’s weird for everything to go dark at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
Mrs. Maras described totality as “very mystic.”
“This one will be better than what we saw in 2017 because I’ve done a lot of research,” she said. “The moon is closer to the earth so it’s going to be way bigger than in 2017. The whole thing is going to be bigger, and the corona and the shoots outside of it are going to be more spectucalur, apparently, than 2017 was.
She continued: “Seeing totatlity for the first time — it is so awe-inspiring. You sit there. You get feels all over.”
She said she also likes seeing the crescent-shaped shadows that pop up.
For Maras, witnessing a total solar eclipse is hard to explain, he said.
“It’s like an eerie thing, especially when coming in and out,” he said.
As nearly 5,000 people celebrated the eclipse at the Sikeston Sports and Recreation Complex, visitors stayed near their hotels or utilized some of Sikeston’s many other parks to view the eclipse.
Tom Melchior of Salem, Missouri, set up to watch the eclipse from Malone Park in Sikeston. Monday’s eclipse was his third. He also saw the one in 1979.
“I don’t miss them,” Melchior said.
Meanwhile, residents of Sikeston also attended the city’s events, or they simply sat outside their homes and workplaces during the eclipse. Several area schools hosted their own view parties.
St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Sikeston hosted an eclipse party for students that featured several eclipse and space-themed stations. They made sundials, solar cars and “galaxy” slime, and they were able to view the eclipse through a telescope.
During the countdown to the eclipse, fourth graders Lily Vance and Nicholas Shirk said they were excited about being able to witness the eclipse. They watched a video about the topic and discussed it in class prior to Monday, they said.
After looking at the sun through his eclipse glasses, Nicholas said: “The orange sun looks like a cartoon.”
Lily said it was cool to be able to watch the eclipse. She added: “The next one will be in 20 years.”
By this time, the totality was getting closer.
About 10 minutes before totality began, students at St. Francis Xavier started to notice the temperature dropping and outside conditions darkening. Donning their eclipse glasses, they sat in a group on the pavement of their playground as they watched the moon cover the sun.
“Solar eclipse! Solar eclipse! Solar eclipse!” they chanted.
They “oohed” and “awed” as the street lights turned on.
And when 1:58 p.m. hit, the students screamed and cheered with delight for the next three minutes and 30 seconds. And then, it was bright again and the students continued to play outside.
When asked what he thought after the eclipse was over, Nicholas, who was running with his friends, stopped and smiled.
“It was awesome,” he said.
