We all got mooned

Sun-gazers gathered at the Marion J. Mohr Public Library and Johnston Senior Center Monday afternoon to cover their eyes with cardboard and stare at a slowly shrinking orange sphere.

Backyard astronomer Steve Massarone helped library-goers view the rare eclipse through a telescope and a pair of special glasses.

Immaculate Conception students and siblings Arseni Aguilar, 13, and Aaron Aguilar, 8, stopped by to take a look.

Massarone expected the eclipse would reach about 92% totality in northern Rhode Island. If the percentage reached 100%, he said, we’d likely feel a dip in temperature and a few moments of near darkness.

“We’re gonna see about 92% blockage of the sun,” he explained, standing outside the Marian J. Mohr Library in Johnston, where he had special optical gear laid out on a table.

He helped Arlene Lopardo, a clerk at the library, view the eclipse through special glasses and an eclipse-adjusted telescope.

According to NASA: “On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse moved across North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk.”

It was incredibly sunny in the Ocean State on Monday afternoon as Johnston residents gathered to view the eclipse.

Plenty of residents scrambled for eclipse eyewear last minute (those who didn’t plan far in advance).

A group of Johnston Senior Center members stood by the bocce court and looked toward Amazon, and up, to view the eclipse.

Through the narrow cardboard glasses, Johnston sun-gazers witnessed a dark circular mass slowly moving across a bright orange sphere, until merely a skinny orange fingernail trimming remained.