What eclipse?

It wasn’t the total bust weather-wise that forecasters feared. But it also wasn’t the grand astronomical event that some touted.

Monday’s solar eclipse was pretty much so-so with your experience based on what type of equipment you had in your possession, where you were located, and the amount of cloud cover.

My older daughter, located in Plainsboro, was able to get nice video of the eclipse with her iPhone (lead photo). It did not damage the phone as users had been warned.

At Middlesex Borough’s Victor Crowell Park, the skies darkened as the eclipse’s high point approached shortly after 3 p.m. The sky was partly cloudy. Some Canada geese headed for the island, seemingly to hunker down. Were they bluffed into believing night was approaching or merely tired from a day on the water?

It appeared to be the latter. It never got close to total darkness at VCP, appearing to be more like late evening than nightfall at the eclipse’s maximum sun coverage.

As that occurred, a few geese rambled around the banks, pestering people with bag lunches to throw them a few crumbs. If they were fooled into thinking nightfall was approaching, it didn’t stop their food grubbing.

While the geese didn’t all get tricked by the false-night, it did get noticeably darker at VCP during a roughly half-hour period. It would have been interesting to witness the eclipse there if more wildlife had been out to endure the phenomenon.

Thankfully, there were no alligators about to nip at the feet of the half-dozen or so eclipse-watchers who turned out at the lakefront.

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