Sun Block

Weather reports for the week of October 19-25, 2014 in Eastern Iowa called for mostly fair skies--except for Thursday, October 23. That day called for rain, and of course that was the day that the partial solar eclipse would be visible across most of North America. Two bands of rain showers moved through the state during the morning hours, leaving overcast skies in its wake. Prospects suddenly improved, however, as the western and central parts began to clear. The clearing moved east, but the big question and anticipation was whether it would get here in time before sunset. Sunset was 6:12 PM CDT. A clear band approached along the western horizon before 6:00 PM and just after 6:00 the partially eclipsed sun dipped below the line of clouds, finally revealing itself! The images above look west toward Cedar Rapids from near the grounds at Christ Community United Methodist Church near the intersection of East Robins Road and Alburnett Road in Marion, Iowa. The top two images were captured at 6:08 PM. The bottom image is a sequential view of the setting sun, from 6:02-6:09 PM.