Sun meets moon at Vulcan Park

When the solar solar eclipse peaked in Birmingham at 1:31 p.m., crickets chirped as if evening had set, and onlookers at the Vulcan Park and Museum gave the dimmed city a good look as the moon almost entirely covered the sun. 

Locals gathered at the Vulcan Park and Museum to watch the partial solar eclipse from as early as 10 a.m. to as late as 3 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the 2017 Solar Eclipse Viewing Event: Sun Meet Moon. Families, workers on their lunch break, school children and groups of friends sat in lawn chairs and on blankets eating lunch under the partial eclipse and cast iron Vulcan statue.

Morgan Black, the director of marketing and PR for the Vulcan Park and Museum, said she was excited to see so many people come out and enjoy the rare celestial event at one of Birmingham's hallmark locations. They also gave out 200 free glasses to the first people to buy tickets to the Vulcan Park and Museum and ran out quickly at around 10:45 a.m.

However, people were still encouraged to come watch the solar eclipse at the park for free or purchase tickets, which included a ride up the Vulcan statue, as well as access to the museum. 

People watched the eclipse through specially made glasses, welder helmets and NASA-approved viewers. In addition, right after the peak of the eclipse, a man asked a woman to marry him, and she said yes. People in the crowd clapped for them.