From Hawaii to Mexico to Central America, more than 40 million people saw the moon obscure so much of the sun that only a blazing ring was visible. In Hawaii, Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in six years, stunning scientists by releasing a dazzling fountain of lava at the height of the eclipse.; And in the Bay Area, more than half the sun was covered when the eclipse peaked at 11:20 a.m. The world will not see such a long-lasting eclipse for another 151 years.; Few people who saw it today will forget "The Big One."; "It looks neat. It looks like someone took a bite out of an apple," said Matthew Mauranoh, 8, of Mountain View, who peered through a homemade black box at the Foothill Observatory.; The view was diminished for many in Hawaii and Mexico, where low cloud cover obscured the celestial display. In the 160-mile-wide swath from Hawaii to Baja to Mexico to Brazil, the morning turned into night -- the only region where the eclipse made the Earth totally dark.; Clouds obscured eclipse; As totality arrived at sea level on the Big Island, the sun was hidden by a cloud layer. At the astronomy observatory at the top of 13,800-foot Mauna Kea, high cirrus clouds thwarted three of the 10 scientific experiments.; It still got dark, but the clouds disappointed about 500 people gathered on the driving range at the Mauna Lani resort in south Kohala. Their hopes had fallen and risen in the previous hour as the clouds came and went.; "I came especially for this, and hope we get to see it," said Margaret MacLeod, a mathematics and science teacher from Manhattan Beach shortly before the eclipse in Hawaii. "If we don't get to see it, I may have to go to Iraq for the next one."; Because of the clouds, most were unable to see the stages of the eclipse until it got totally dark.; In the Bay Area, though, mostly sunny skies made eclipse watching a treat, except along the coast, where it was obscured by fog.; Parks, parking lots, shopping centers, back yards and planetariums became Eclipsefests as the peak approached.; More than a hundred sun gazers showed up at the Branham Lane Park in south San Jose with almost as many gizmos to help them spot sunspots and watch the moon cross the sun.; There were funny Mylar glasses, big pinhole cameras, small pinhole cameras, welder's glass, welder's masks, binoculars projecting images onto cardboard and telescopes.; None was as impressive as Ralph Reeves' interference birefrigent hydrogen alpha filter telescope. All most of us need to know is that it takes electricity (provided by a gas generator) to run. And that you can take pictures of the eclipse through it. That is, if you have film.; "I didn't bring any film with me," said Reeves, a retired Lockheed instrument builder. "Isn't that awful?"; At the Children's Discovery Museum in downtown San Jose, hundreds of youngsters and adults made cardboard telescopes, which projected the eclipse on white cards through a needle hole opening.; Paul Stonecipher , a discovery museum staff guide, said, "We wanted to make little theaters for all of the kids to see the eclipse without burning their eyes."; Using mirrors, the eclipse also was projected on the exterior walls of the lavendar-colored museum.; Eclipse theme park; For nearly a week now, Hawaii turned into an eclipse theme park. More than 500 astronomers and tens of thousands of amateurs flocked to the islands to sell nearly everything under the sun.; Sun-minded entrepreneurs hawked eclipse T-shirts (60 different designs), hats, posters and cookies. There was even an eclipse haircut and, of course, an eclipse drink at the Eclipse restaurant in Kailua-Kona.; "Everything is selling pretty well except for the eclipse Frisbees. Nobody wants eclipse Frisbees," said "Wild Bill" Lawrence, who helped out at Moonshadows, one of many small shops set up to
From Hawaii to Mexico and on to Central America more that 40 million people saw the moon totally darken the sun. When the eclipse was at its height, the Mauna Loa volcano erupted for the first time in six tears, and released a dazzling display of lava. High cirrus clouds caused the failure of three of the ten experiments carried out in the observatory on top of 13,800 foot Mauna Kee. High cloud cover dimmed the view in some areas, but those who got a good look marveled at the celestial display.