SOLAR ECLIPSE!

On Monday, August 21st, we had the rare opportunity here in the U.S. to see a solar eclipse. Because of where we live, we only got a partial solar eclipse- other areas to the west and south of us got to experience a full eclipse, but we weren't up to traveling 5-6 hours to see the full effect. So instead, we just watched it from our own backyard. It didn't get totally dark, but it definitely got dimmer, and everything took on a weird tint.

Fortunately, we did have some special solar eclipse glasses so we were able to view the partial eclipse, and we also saw another neat phenomenon called the "pinhole effect."

We first noticed it on our deck- normally, these shadows look like any shadows you'd see when the sunlight shines through the leaves on a tree. But due to the solar eclipse, every place the sun shined through was a bright crescent shape.

We could see it really clearly on our living room carpet (which was a bit messy because we kept going in and out of the house to see the progress of the eclipse!)

And on our driveway. 

I thought the effect on the paint on my husband's old car was really cool. It reminded me of billowing smoke.

Because I'd heard this called the "pinhole effect," I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I actually put a pinhole in a sheet of paper and let the sun shine through it.

See that tiny bright crescent shape that looks kind of like a fingernail? That's the sun in the midst of a solar eclipse! That's what came through the pinhole I'd made in the paper.

We made sure to be extra safe while watching the eclipse- everyone had their own pair of eclipse glasses, and since the glasses are designed for adults- not kids- we fitted the girls' glasses with some extra protection in the form of paper plates. Safety first!

Have you ever experienced a solar eclipse? The next one will be coming to the U.S. in 2024, and we're already excited for it!