“Observing an eclipse shows us that shadow is not our enemy and light always emerges again,” said Joy Rilling-Hughes, employee at Driftwood Dragonfly, a local shop that hosted an eclipse-watch party on April 8.

Those in attendance at Driftwood Dragonfly, along with countless others around the 2 p.m. peak for Athens on Monday, looked to the sky to observe a rare phenomenon.

The eclipse passed over the 35611 ZIP code with a 90.8 percent coverage at the peak time of 2:01 p.m., according to NASA’s 2024 Total Eclipse web page.

Athens residents — employees, students and public service workers alike — could be seen looking up at the eclipse. Most had protective glasses, but some had to get creative and use other options, such as at-home scientists using copy paper or those without glasses using a welder’s helmet instead.

While many thought of the afternoon as simply a science lesson, Rilling-Hughes reminds us that it is also “an opportunity to observe our world, make a review of the shadows and start over.”