After weeks of anticipation, the moon’s shadow passed across the sun to enthralled onlookers around the country. It seems like Washingtonians heeded the warnings not to look at the sun as it approached peak coverage of 81 percent—most came prepared with eclipse glasses, while others had their faces pressed up to cardboard boxes—with the man leading the free world being a notable exception. Otherwise, here’s what the city saw and said about the celestial event.

Plenty of people got out of work and school for a bit

It’s been estimated that the solar eclipse is coming at a lost productivity cost of around $700 million, but what’s a few hundred million bucks for the experience of a lifetime. School children and office workers alike took a break from their days to stare at the sun, even though D.C. only got a partial eclipse.

Famous and famous for D.C. people watched, too

D.C. government nerder-y

A topical reference from the D.C. Auditor, who managed to throw shade at a wildly overbudget school remodernization, and some ominousness from the D.C. Council’s official Twitter account.

Eclipse photos

Some surprisingly good cellphone photography out there…

And some predicable griping

We told you it wouldn’t be as cool as totality! “If you’re not in totality, and it’s a nice day, it’s certainly worth getting some glasses and getting a peek,” astrophyscist Edwin Turner told DCist. “But don’t mistake it for the actual thing.”

Until next time …

Previously:
Photos: Of Course Trump Looked Directly At The Eclipse
A Princeton Astrophysicist Explains Why A Partial Eclipse Isn’t Nearly As Spectacular As Totality
What Will The Eclipse Look Like From D.C.?

Filed Under: eclipse, solar eclipse,