Under the Same Sky: A view of eclipses from Spain to Southwest Michigan

(Composite image of the solar eclipse courtesy of Olivia Thibeault)

A few weeks and a few thousand miles apart, a local group of friends found a way to connect under the skies while viewing a pair of complimentary celestial events. This August granted many sky watchers across the world a view of both solar and lunar eclipses. Among the captivated viewers were Watervliet natives Tyler Coffin, Ryan Kibler, and Olivia Thibeault, who captured these special moments from opposite sides of the globe.

...LUNAR A partial lunar eclipse unfolded overnight Thursday, August 27, into the early morning hours of Friday, August 28, giving the Tri-City area sky watchers a striking view of the moon. Our luna (Latin for “moon”) took on a copper hue during the eclipse, which reached its maximum at about 12:12 a.m. Friday. (TCR photo by Tyler Coffin)

Ryan and Olivia made the voyage from their home in Seattle, Washington, to Spain in mid-August to view the solar eclipse in its line of totality. After spending several days in Barcelona to appreciate the architecture of the city, they had the experience of taking a high-speed train to their viewing location of Zaragoza, Spain. The eclipse, which occurred on August 16, 2026, happened to be the first total solar eclipse visible from Spain in over a century. Being enthusiasts of such cosmic events, the pair of adventurers travels regularly to marvel at solar eclipses in their totality. In August of 2017, they made a trip to Hopkinsville, Kentucky with another Watervliet native, Troy Burtchett, and in April 2024 they travelled home to Michigan for a view of one such phenomenon.

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