Arianna Dunkley
You are here
Eclipse Into Spring
When the moon moves in front of the sun and obscures our vision of it, this is known as a solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the sun's light. These are uncommon occurrences that are only seen for brief periods of time in certain locations. On Monday, April 8th, northern New Hampshire was in the total scholar eclipse's Path of Totality, a view that granted people 98% visibility of the moon blocking the sun.
Days leading up to the eclipse, the community looked around for proper eyewear to protect their eyes from the eclipse. At Dartmouth's Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, students were able to retrieve eclipse glasses at no cost. A few classes were moved to Zoom or rescheduled on another day's x-hour. Each course planned by the Dartmouth College Registrar includes an extra, optional period called the x-hour, in addition to the normally scheduled class times. For that course only, the x-hour is set aside in the normally allotted classroom or on Zoom, although on a different day and time.
During the day of the actual eclipse, there was a tent outside on the Dartmouth Green (the focal point of campus) that also provided free eclipse glasses, pretzels, pastries, water, and other refreshments. Students placed picnic blankets and their jackets on the grass of the Green, some playing volleyball and others playing spike ball. When students don't have their own equipment, they are able to freely rent volleyballs and spike ball nets from the front desk at Collis.

Between 3:25 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., the campus looked up at the eclipse through their glasses to see most of the moon covering the sun. Outdoors, the light seemed dull, and the sky slightly darkened. When northern New Hampshire witnessed 98% visibility, the partial eclipse enthralled the community, bringing everyone in Hanover outside and providing a lasting impression of a really extraordinary natural occurrence.
Posts You Might Like
Interviewing my friend Kaveri, who is a Biology major and Anthropology Minor!
In this blog, I share how joining Ujima, Dartmouth's oldest hip hop dance team, became not just a creative outlet but a family built on collective work, responsibility, and love.
To the Class of 2030: Congratulations! For those of you who are still making a decision, this blog is intended to give you some tips from my own experience of being in your fortunate (but difficult) position.
The O-Farm is a great destination for fun, especially when it hosts campus-wide events, like Brewhaha and Harfest!
Curious about some winter activities and traditions to have fun during winter term!?
Get to know me and Dartmouth through my lens! (queue "Introducing Me" from Camp Rock 2)
This past fall, I went through sorority rush, and it was an experience. Keep reading to hear how it went!
Dartmouth offers three student workshops at The Hopkins Center: ceramics, jewelry, and woodwork! Join me on my journey as I explore the non-credit-based arts at Dartmouth and make some interesting handmade objects along the way! Up first, CERAMICS!
Staying connected to significant people in my life is very important to my emotional well being at Dartmouth. Here are some ways I stay social around Hanover and a little bit away in Boston!