Nashville gets a cloudy view of the solar eclipse
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The solar eclipse as seen in Sylvan Park. Photo: Courtesy of Jason Chow
As Nashville looked up Monday, most eclipse watchers saw a sky crowded with puffy gray clouds.
- For many, it didn't match the majesty of 2017, when Music City was in the path of totality. But the overcast day didn't spoil all of the fun.
What they saw: Some views were better than others. Neighbors in some parts of town shared spellbinding pictures, while others a few miles away missed out.
What they're saying: Jason Chow tells Axios he was at home in Sylvan Park when everything got dark. He went outside and snapped a picture of a small crescent of sun in the clouds.
- "It was really cool because I didn't know what we'd get to see here in Nashville because of the cloudy forecast," he says.
- "I wasn't in Nashville for the 2017 one, so seeing it today was great."
Zoom out: Of course, 2017 inspired many Middle Tennesseans to hit the road to catch another glimpse of totality.
- Adam ran into a family of travelers at a coffee shop in Metropolis, Illinois.
Kayla and Eric Smith tell Axios they watched the last eclipse from a rooftop at Trevecca Nazarene University. Clouds blocked their view that time, but they were still enchanted.
- "We said then that we would travel to wherever the next one was," she said Monday in Metropolis. "Immediately after, we looked it up."
- "And now we're here."
So the Smiths left their home in Old Hickory on Monday morning and headed northwest on Interstate 24. They watched the sun slip behind the moon in a park with their 5-year-old son Owen.
- Owen was so impressed he suggested they travel around the world to see more eclipses.
Eric Smith said he liked the idea of "letting the stars guide" their future family vacations.
What's next: The next total solar eclipse visible from the United States will occur Aug. 23, 2044.
- That eclipse will trace a much more limited path that includes parts of Montana and North Dakota.
- If you're willing to travel further, the next total eclipse worldwide is Aug. 12, 2026. It will be visible in Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Russia.