Students at Highlands School got to use their eclipse glasses prior to school dismissing during the event.
The 2024 total solar eclipse might not have brought totality to Macon or Jackson counties as it did in 2017, but those who ventured out to see the sun nearly 85 percent covered got to see glimpses between the clouds on Monday, April 8.
The sun was out until around 2:35 p.m., when heavy clouds from the west rolled in, obscuring the sun, but all was not lost.
Brief breaks in the clouds allowed people to see the sun look like a sliver of the moon over the next half hour plus, through the maximum coverage time of 3:07 p.m., when it noticeably got darker. Employees at nearby restaurants and stores walked outside, with solar glasses over their eyes, to watch at various points.
In Highlands the biggest viewing party took place at Sunset Rock and was hosted by the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust. Vehicle traffic to the top of Sunset Rock was halted for the day as folks hiked their way to the top for a perfect viewing location.
While there wasn’t an official viewing event at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park, a small group gathered with eclipse glasses in hand to see the peak of the celestial show.
Students at Highlands School, Blue Ridge and Summit Charter were able to make it outside to watch the eclipse prior to dismissal, which happened right at the peak of the eclipse.
In Jackson County the biggest eclipse event was hosted by Southwestern Community College, who rolled out a full slate of activities for guests. There were food trucks, shaved ice, and telescopes on site for safe up-close viewing.
The couple dozen people at the Franklin Chamber of Commerce who sat up chairs to watch got to see something they can tell future generations about.
Bonnie Phillips of Franklin called it “fantastic.” Mary Spivey, wearing a 2017 Eclipse shirt, said that she and her friends were all in their 80s, so it might be their last time seeing one.
Some watchers who noted their older ages wondered aloud if they’d be around for the next one. The next solar eclipse in America will be in 20 years on Aug. 23, 2044, which will be seen in Western Canada, Montana and the Dakotas. The next time Franklin will see visible darkening from an eclipse will be the following year, Aug. 12, 2045, when the path of totality will go southeast from northern California through the middle of Florida, but North Carolina will not be in the path of totality. A total solar eclipse on May 11, 2078, will pass over the southern United States.