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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is No. 10 of the Top 10 stories of the year as voted on by newsroom staff.
Residents of Trumbull and Mahoning counties along with visitors nationwide had the opportunity to view a total solar eclipse April 8.
It might have been the only time for most of the spectators to witness such a rare event.
Viewing locations that day for the celestial spectacle spread across the Mahoning Valley -- from the Foxconn EV Systems parking lot in Lordstown to Mollenkopf Stadium at Warren G. Harding High School, Courthouse Square in Warren, Lake Milton beach and Mosquito Lake State Park in Bazetta.
The eclipse was expected to attract a staggering 31 million stargazers who fell within the 2,000-milelong swath of totality that stretched across 15 states, from the southern reaches of Texas to the shores of Maine.
Ohio has not seen a total eclipse since 1806 and will not see another one until 2099. The partial solar eclipse began about 2 p.m. The period of totality started approximately 3:15 p.m. in the area and ended around 3:18 p.m. The partial eclipse continued afterward.
At Foxconn, members of the Youngstown State University Physics and Astronomy Department hosted a viewing event in the plant's parking lot.
The eclipse lived up to the hype, according to YSU professor Dr. Patrick Durrell. In his more than 25 years of teaching about eclipses, Durrell said this was the first time he was able to see a total eclipse.
"It was a very impressive event,'' he said.
"What people were able to see was a rare event. Did it live up to all the hype? Absolutely. It was an incredible spectacle and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see," Durrell said.
He said there are one or two solar eclipses each year, but many happen in areas with limited population.
The eclipse lasted a minute and lined up just perfectly over the sun, providing a glimpse of the corona, which appears as streams of white light.
As the sun reappeared, the Beatles song "Here Comes the Sun" was played at some of the locations.
The total eclipse deserved its top billing, but the eclipse lasted 2.5 hours in all. The first half was when the moon slowly moved over the sun starting about 2 p.m. until the 3:15 p.m. eclipse. That gave people plenty of time to adjust to using eclipse glasses and try different ways of photographing the eclipse, taking care not to damage cameras, phone cameras and telescopes with filters.
While many local schools either gave students the day off or released them early to view the total solar eclipse with their families, some had events and plans for students and staff.
Most school districts already had made decisions about adjustments for the school day.