GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Though a majority of Michigan did not see the total solar eclipse, many enjoyed the spectacle of a partial eclipse Monday afternoon.
The partial eclipse for West Michigan lasted two hours and 29 minutes from start to finish. It peaked around 3:11 p.m. with 94% of the sun covered by the moon.
Blandford Nature Center
Though Grand Rapids did not reach totality during the eclipse, you could still see the sky darken and the light dimmed.
Many gathered along the highlands at Blandford to watch the partial eclipse without a cloud in the sky.
"It’s definitely been really awesome. We weren’t expecting such a huge turnout. But it’s really great to see the community come together. We ran out of glasses in like 15 minutes," Katie Cevaal with Blandford Nature Center said.
Some people in attendance got to experience a solar eclipse for the first time.
"I'm just happy I could come out and check it out. I had the day off work. So it was my first time seeing an eclipse and the fact that it was so close to being total was really neat, too," Anna Smith said.
As the moon made its way across the sky and over the sun, a literal chill fell over this crowd.
"The thing I noticed the most was the temperature difference. That was really fascinating. When it was kind of at its peak. It got significantly colder. Yeah, it was yeah, we're a little bit chilly," Hannah Piedt said.
Coldwater, Michigan
One of the closest places you could find totality in West Michigan is two hours south of Grand Rapids in Coldwater.
“The eclipse is neat, I kind of wish we were in the path of totality, but no such luck this time," Audrey Tappenden.
While not in totality, Coldwater was pretty close: 97%.
A group of folks gathered at Heritage Park on the city's sledding hill to watch the partial eclipse.
“It’s historical....how fortunate we are to experience so much of it," Karen Kiss said.
At its peak, the sun looked like a sliver hovering over the dozens of people who made the trip out to see it.
Many noticed the difference in temperature.
“The temperature cooled down, I don’t know exactly, probably about ten degrees or so, the wind picked up a little bit. It got dark enough to turn on the street lights or the parking lot lights at our rec center here, so I’m sure around town there’s different lights that turned on based on their sensors, so it was pretty awesome to see," Coldwater Board of Utility Director Paul Jakubczak said.
Muskegon
Meteorologist Blake Hansen spent his afternoon at the Muskegon Astronomical Society as they hosted an open house for the solar eclipse.
While most of Michigan was not in the path of totality, many Michiganders still experienced as much as 94% totality.
A group of people went out to the Muskegon Astronomical Society's Star Party to get a view of the solar eclipse.
The Astronomical Society had telescopes for people to look at the sun with solar filters on them.
Solar eclipse 2024 photo gallery
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