Friday's partial solar eclipse was unusual because for many Utahns, the sun came up with a chunk missing. By sunrise, the moon's edge had already cut across the upper left rim of the sun.
Viewing the event from Little Mountain at the top of Emigration Canyon, the slopes of nearby mountains were outlined with yellow light just at sunrise. The air was balmy and calm.Any partial solar eclipse can blind if not viewed through proper filters or with a "sunbox" to project the image using a pinhole. In this case, the event was watched through two solar filters, one small enough to be held by hand, the other larger and mounted across the front of a telescope.
These filters are strong enough to reduce the sun's light by an estimated 100,000 times. That protects the eyes, but it means nothing can be seen through the filter except direct sunlight. Anything else, such as an object in front of the sun, is only visible as a black silhouette.
At sunrise, the view eastward was clear, with the predawn glow lighting up a few insubstantial clouds. Then the sun peeped over the flank of a distant mountain.
Seen through the hand-held filter, the orange sun presented a surprising view: a slice was missing from the upper left, while the lower part was blocked by the slanting flank of a mountain and a tiny tree was silhouetted against the part of the sun that showed.
It soon slid clear of the mountain and tree. At this point, the light falling on the ground seemed to shine with normal intensity. But within a few minutes, as the eclipse increased, the light was noticeably diminished. It was thinner and more golden than normal for that time of morning.
Viewed through a telescope protected by the larger solar filter, the eclipse moved with the slowness of a clock's minute hand. More and more of the sun disappeared.
A school bus driver stopped his bus and asked, "Has it started yet?" He said he had meant to bring his welding hood but forgot. Looking through the hand-held filter, he said he could see the top of the sun was hidden. Then he said he had to "go pick up my kids," and left.
At 6:57 a.m., the eclipse was at its maximum, with about 25 percent of the sun hidden.
The sun was a grainy orange orb, with a big scoop missing. The edge seemed uneven, either because of mountains on the moon or because of rippling heat waves.
By then, the sunshine was decidedly less intense. Soon, as the moon receded, the light resumed its usual brilliance and warmth.