Fiammetta Wilson Sees 50 Seconds of Eclipse Solar in Tennessee
Fiammetta Wilson saw her first eclipse solar on 21 August 2017 in Tennessee after driving from Shelby Park in Nashville to reach clear sky for totality. The astronomer and her husband reached the viewing spot at 1.27pm, after clouds closed in minutes before the eclipse.
They had about 50 seconds before another cloud blocked the view. The moon covered the sun, the corona appeared, birds landed and hushed, and Wilson said the experience moved them both to tears.
Fiammetta Wilson in Tennessee
Wilson had a doctorate in astrophysics focused on collisions between galaxies and had already seen comets, planetary alignments, fireballs, galaxies and northern lights. She had not seen a total solar eclipse before 21 August 2017, despite years of watching the sky.
She moved to the UK in 2007 and later heard many stories about the 1999 total solar eclipse visible from Cornwall and France. For 18 years after that, she chased partial eclipses of the sun before the Tennessee trip gave her her first total one.
Shelby Park to the print car park
The sky was crystal clear that morning, and Wilson and her husband checked the sun through a small solar telescope while wearing eclipse glasses. The moon slowly crossed the face of the sun just before noon, but clouds arrived minutes before totality.
They drove from Shelby Park in Nashville to a car park of a printing company to find sunlight. As they rushed away, her husband shouted, “There! There’s sunlight!”
The UK and 2090
The eclipse also carried wider weight for viewers in the UK, where the next visible total solar eclipse is not due until 23 September 2090. From Earth, the sun and moon appear the same size, which is why one can cover the other completely during totality.
For anyone planning to see the same kind of event, Wilson’s account shows how quickly totality can vanish once cloud cover returns. In Tennessee, the difference between missing it and seeing it was a last-minute drive and less than a minute of clear sky.
