WESTPORT, Ind. (LEX 18) — Chief Meteorologist Bill Meck and Sean Moody took in totality Monday in Westport, Indiana, just south of Indianapolis.
While folks in central Kentucky experienced some heavy cloud cover, our team in Indiana had clear conditions to view the solar eclipse.
"This is nothing short of surreal, knowing we have three celestial bodies lining up absolutely perfectly," said Meck while leaning back and taking in the spectacle. "This is truly, truly amazing."
The two smiled as they wore their special solar eclipse glasses to protect their eyes from the solar rays, which can cause serious eye injury.
"The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, and it's also 400 times further away from us than the moon is... those two sizes, to our eye, are exactly the same, which is what makes this possible," said Moody.
According to Meck, this eclipse is better than the one we experienced seven years ago because the moon is closer to us, making it appear larger.
"We get so much more totality during this eclipse," said Meck.
The eclipse allowed for a night sky-like atmosphere in central Indiana with the ability to see planets and stars during totality.
"It's amazing how dark it is right now. It's so unusual. It's so odd," said Moody.
"Instagram has no filter for this," said Meck.
After totality, the crew enjoyed another partial eclipse as light from the sunlight slowly crept back.
An Indiana family was hospitable and let our crew enjoy the eclipse from their backyard, while also providing a cookout and some bread pudding.
"This may have been the best eclipse party around," said Meck.
The next total solar eclipse in North America will be in 2044. If you can't wait that long, the next eclipse on Earth will be visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, and Spain.
