With eyes peeled toward the sky, the Tallahassee community jockeyed for the perfect spot to watch the Great North American Eclipse — and over 100 chose to park themselves at Tallahassee Community College’s open field.

Students, teachers, residents and children all gathered to marvel at the celestial event as the college hosted a viewing event on campus. Free solar glasses and filters for cell phone cameras were available.

A group of TCC professors were also available during the viewing to answer questions and show people the different tools to look at how the sun and moon were crossing paths.

Wanting to soak up every minute of the astronomical wonder, Louise Foresman and Danyl Chambers claimed their spot in the grass around 1:45 p.m., coming prepared with pillows, bug spray and sunscreen. “I saw a total eclipse before, and it was amazing,” Chambers said.

Chambers and Foresman are from Cleveland, Ohio, where residents and visitors were able to see a total eclipse. They said they thought about going back home to see the full eclipse, but when they found out Cleveland was going to be cloudy and likely not able to see it, they decided to stay put and see a partial one at the very least.

“It’s nice to be here and see a partial one,” Chambers said. “I think it would be crazy to be around all of those people.”

Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 2024 solar eclipse: Tallahassee Community College hosts local watchers