Eclipsing Moment

The final track on Pink Floyd’s The Darkside of the Moon, “Eclipse,” made for the perfect soundtrack at the UTA Library Mall to accompany the total solar eclipse Monday, April 8. 

Students, faculty, staff members, and visitors gathered to watch the historic moment unfold as the moon blocked the sun's light completely. 

Scott Parsinen, a UTA alum, took part of the day off from work to experience the eclipse and the events connected with it on campus. He shared that eclipse is the last one some people will see in their lifetime, and there is no better place than UTA to experience this moment. 

"We made sure that we got up early and got to campus. There were signs from the city and posts on social media that there would be a lot of people here," Parsinen said. "Hopefully, we will get a nice view of totality. Regardless, having everyone together and celebrating a natural phenomenon is cool.” 

According to NASA, the total solar eclipse crossed over North America, passing over Mexico, the United States from Texas to Maine and Canada. About 31.6 million people lived in the path of totality. 

People on campus were able to view the eclipse starting at 12:22 p.m., with totality beginning at 1:40 p.m. and lasting almost four minutes. 

Oscar De La Cruz, an aerospace engineering major, was one of many people capturing the moment with a camera. His excitement about the eclipse was evident in his smile as he made final adjustments to his equipment. 

"I am really looking forward to the eclipse because this is my first time seeing this event. I brought a tripod for this occasion. While I don't have an expensive camera, I think my phone will do just fine," De La Cruz said. "I was pretty excited about coming out and seeing the eclipse. It could be the last one I could see in my lifetime." 

Quocthanh Doba made the trip to campus from Houston to witness the eclipse. 

"The last time I saw an eclipse was in San Antonio in 2023, but there it was only for a minute and a half," Doba said. "I came here to Arlington because it has more viewing time, which is close to four minutes." 

Doba stated that during his visit, he captured the moment through video to share with his family members who could not make the trip up to the Metroplex. 

If you could not witness the eclipse firsthand, you can check out the highlights on the UTA YouTube page, the university's website or see photos through the UTA Libraries' Flickr account.