On Apr 8, 2024 The last solar eclipse for 21 years graced the USA. Castle View High school got to experience this and we all got to see about 60 percent of the sun get covered.  Many teachers let their students out of class early to witness the eclipse, so there were a ton of students and teachers out on the main courtyard trying to get a glimpse of the moon-covered sun. Almost all of them wore solar eclipse glasses to protect their eyes from the sun.

Although most people took the danger of the concentrated sun rays seriously, some people decided it would be a good idea to not wear glasses and stare straight into the eclipse.  “Yeah I looked into the sun for like 3 seconds and got a really bad headache after.” Student D’Marco said. Many people at CV and on social media looked at the eclipse with their bare eyes and none of them experienced good results.

Due to the eclipse in Castle Rock being a partial eclipse, there was part of the sun that wasn’t covered by the moon. So looking at a partial eclipse can cause the sun’s rays to destroy cells in the back of the retina. This is known as solar retinopathy which can cause permanent or temporary damage that has no immediate pain.  It takes a while for people to feel the damage the eclipse has done.

Another trend that students at Castle View participated in was the thought the solar eclipse meant the end of the world. “There was kids in my class that were making fake trumpet sounds saying it was the rapture, it was so funny.”  Student Carlyn Kelly said. For thousands of years ancient societies believed that solar eclipses were signs of destruction or end times so it makes sense why people believe that today.  Although the things that people did could be considered strange or dumb, the solar eclipse is a rare occasion that will only happen a few time in our lives, so why not celebrate.