Where did UMaine students go to see the solar eclipse?
By Kathryn Busko
4/16/24
Map of where UMaine students went to see the eclipse. Click on the points to see a photograph from each location.
Gordon Young hit the brakes. Trees, again. As he turned the car around, he glimpsed the small parade of cars that had followed him down this dead-end, dirt road. Resigned, he stepped on the gas, prepared to rejoin the line of vehicles that stretched for miles. But for an experience he would never forget? It had been worth it.
Young is a first-year Ecology & Environmental Science student at the University of Maine, Orono. On Monday, April 8th, he traveled to Moosehead Lake, Maine, to see the total solar eclipse. He was not the only one. According to News Center Maine, an estimated 30,000 people entered Maine through the York tolls of the Maine Turnpike on Sunday, April 7th. People from around the country toured the winding roads that link named and unnamed towns through the trees.
Traffic on the road between Greenville and Monson at 8:04 PM
Photo by Kathryn Busko
“We were all here to see this one really cool natural phenomenon. And not much draws people to locations like that,” said Young.
Not only was Young watching for the eclipse, he was also watching for the devil comet. According to Astronomy Magazine, the devil comet is visible about every 70 years, and its cycle lined up with this eclipse.
“It really felt like some kind of prophesied day,” said Young.
Young was at a loss for words when he tried to describe the eclipse and comet. Someday, he would like to see another eclipse.
The April 8th partial eclipse at 3:05 PM.
Photo by Kathryn Busko
Young was one of hundreds of UMaine students to travel for the eclipse. Bryce Butterfield, a first-year Mechanical Engineering student, and several friends, climbed Little Bigelow Mountain through feet of snow. At the top of the mountain, they cooked burritos and lounged around while waiting for the moment.
Butterfield was struck by the community that had gathered to share this experience and by his reaction to the eclipse.
“It felt like nothing could change that. Like, me being content and happy in that moment,” said Butterfield.
Bryce Butterfield watching the eclipse on top of Little Bigelow Mountain
Photo By: Will Morris
Bryce Butterfield and his friends climbing Little Bigelow for the eclipse. From left to right: Emily Kidd, Bryce Butterfield, Alden Rice, Willow Mae
Photo by: Caleb Thibodeau
For Butterfield, the beautiful weather was a surprise, warm enough to hike comfortably in a t-shirt. He was unprepared for the wind and the temperature drop when the sky darkened. But as quickly as the cold had come, the warm returned. Butterfield enjoyed the entire experience, particularly being outdoors with his friends.
“Everything goes back to how it was. But it’s also this feeling of having that experience and having these people that I shared it with on campus. Feels really good,” said Butterfield.
He hopes to have many more outdoor adventures like this one.
Helena Kay, a first-year Ecology & Environmental Science student, never expected to see an eclipse with her own eyes. It was one of those events that seemed to only happen on the news.
She and several other UMaine students traveled to Dover Foxcroft for this eclipse, but she is willing to travel much further for the next one – Iceland, in 2026.
She too, struggled to put her experience into words, concluding that it was something a person couldn’t understand until they experienced it for themselves.
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“All you can do is, like, sit there in awe,” said Kay.
The eclipse on Brassua Lake at 3:31 pm.
Photo by: Kathryn Busko
Students Helena Kay, Gordon Young, and Bryce Butterfield discuss the April 8th eclipse.
Video by: Kathryn Busko