St. Margaret’s campus was buzzing on Monday, not only with new student orientation activities across all divisions in preparation for the first day of classes later this week, but also for an unusual celestial phenomenon that had the entire country stopping to take a look.

Between orientation sessions and Tartan Spirit Day, a brilliant sideshow captivated those on campus as a long-anticipated solar eclipse took place. Students, parents, faculty and staff watched closely as the moon blocked a portion of the sun during the morning activities, causing a slight decrease in brightness on campus.

St. Margaret’s had certified eclipse glasses for all students, parents, faculty and staff on campus to use for safely viewing the eclipse as it unfolded. In San Juan Capistrano, the eclipse maximized at about 65 percent totality at 10:22 a.m., and hundreds of excited Tartans saw the unusual shape of the mid-day sun through the glasses.

The next solar eclipses visible in San Juan Capistrano will be on October 14, 2023 and April 8, 2024.