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Solar Eclipse 2017
Talula Praytor, 6, watches the eclipse in Homewood Central Park. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Sydney Cromwell
Solar Eclipse 2017
Families watch the eclipse in Homewood Central Park. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Sydney Cromwell
Solar Eclipse
Families and residents came to Central Park to watch the eclipse. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Sydney Cromwell
Solar Eclipse 2017
Families watch the eclipse in Homewood Central Park. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Sydney Cromwell
Solar Eclipse 2017
Families watch the eclipse in Homewood Central Park. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Sydney Cromwell
Solar Eclipse 2017
Families watch the eclipse in Homewood Central Park. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Sydney Cromwell
Solar Eclipse 2017
Special glasses made it safe to view the eclipse. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Sydney Cromwell
Solar Eclipse 2017
Families watch the eclipse in Homewood Central Park. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Laura Tucker and Judith Wright at the eclipse party. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar Eclipse 2017
A child plays with a glowstick at the library. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar Eclipse 2017
Kids decorate masks for their eclipse glasses. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar Eclipse 2017
The library's parakeets. Head of Children's Services Laura Tucker said she was hoping to see if the birds behaved differently during the eclipse's peak. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Two-year-old Amélie decorates a mask for her eclipse glasses. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar Eclipse 2017
Kids draw the eclipse and the sun's corona. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar Eclipse 2017
Kids draw the eclipse and the sun's corona. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar Eclipse 2017
Kids decorate masks for their eclipse glasses. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Sydney Cromwell
Solar Eclipse 2017
Kids draw the eclipse and the sun's corona. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Kids decorate masks for their eclipse glasses. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar eclipse 2017
Kids enjoy eclipse-themed snacks. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar Eclipse 2017
Kids enjoy eclipse-themed snacks. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Solar Eclipse 2017
Kids enjoy eclipse-themed snacks. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Adelaide (left) and Amélie decorate masks for their eclipse glasses. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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Adelaide decorates a mask for her eclipse glasses. The Homewood Public Library hosted a solar eclipse party as part of their NASA @ My Library grant. The eclipse passed over Alabama on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
As the total solar eclipse carved a path across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina, residents around Homewood had the chance to see the sun get almost entirely covered by the moon passing in front of it.
At Homewood Central Park, families and groups of friends set out blankets and lawn chairs to get a clear view of the eclipse from the safety of specially-made glasses and viewers. The view for the area peaked at around 1:30 p.m. According to NASA officials, the last total solar eclipse in the U.S. was in 1979, and the last one that traveled from coast to coast was in 1918.
Around the country, people held viewing parties to watch the rare event pass overhead. At Homewood Public Library, the children's department passed out about 200 eclipse glasses and held a variety of crafts and activities. These included drawing the eclipse, making pinhole viewers, a livestream of NASA's video of the eclipse, themed snacks (cheese ball "suns" and Oreo "moons") and decorating paper plate "masks" to wear with eclipse glasses, which made it easier to protect children's vision when looking at the sun.
"I think we're lucky to have sunny skies," said Head of Children’s Services Laura Tucker during the event, which ended before the eclipse's peak.
The library party was funded as part of the NASA @ My Library grant they received earlier this year. Tucker said she was interested in seeing if the animals in the library, including parakeets and a chinchilla, would be affected by the day suddenly getting darker.
Homewood resident Sandy Pepin brought four-year-old Adelaide and two-year-old Amélie to the library because their naptime coincided with the eclipse, so she wanted them to still have a chance to participate in the day's excitement.
"I just think it's neat that everybody all over the U.S. is kind of doing something together," Pepin said.
Ron Burkett, freelance photographer
Pictured is the eclipse from Murfreesboro, Tennesee, before the sun was completely obscured.