PHOTOS: Idaho goes dark in path of 2017 solar eclipse
As people from around the world congregated around the United States to view the solar eclipse Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, tens of thousands of people descended on Rexburg, Idaho.
The small high-desert town attracted crowds due to its location in the path of totality, where the sun was fully blocked out for just over two minutes.
Among the visitors were numerous Utahns, including dozens of students and volunteers from Weber State University’s HARBOR program. The physics club launched a high-altitude balloon that pulled a tail of cameras and instruments over 96,000 feet into the air as southern Idaho briefly went dark.
Students from Weber State University watch the sun as it fully disappears behind the moon during the solar eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Dozens of WSU students gathered alongside tens of thousands of other tourists to view the eclipse near Rexburg.
The sun disappears fully behind the moon for just over two minutes in the path of totality near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
Sisters Alex, left, and Samantha Nigro of Ogden watch the solar eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
Larry Briggs sells solar eclipse glasses out of his van at an I-15 rest stop near Idaho Falls on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Briggs said he bought around 1,000 pairs of glasses at every Smith's between Layton and Draper just over a week ago. He estimated he'd sold about 400 pairs for $10 each over the previous two nights at truck stops in Utah and Idaho.
Gary Manabat of Toronto brews coffee on the tailgate of his truck while his kids sleep in the back seat at an I-15 rest stop near Idaho Falls on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Manabat and his children were traveling from Oregon to Colorado on summer vacation and decided to take a two-day detour up to Idaho Falls to see the eclipse.
Bill Dowell works on a camera stabilizer that will be attached to a high-altitude balloon at Weber State University's camp near Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Members of Weber State's HARBOR program launched a balloon with cameras and several scientific instruments during Monday's eclipse.
Eclipse themed T-shirts are sold in Rexburg's Vendor Village on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. The city of Rexburg, Idaho, converted a city park into a massive campground and set up a food and vendor area nearby in anticipation of large crowds. While thousands of eclipse tourists had descended on the town by Sunday morning, the crowds were not nearly as big as predicted.
Weber State University student Michael Remley writes code for a mini-beacon that will be attached to a high-altitude balloon at WSU's camp near Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Members of Weber State's HARBOR program launched a balloon with cameras and several scientific instruments during Monday's eclipse.
Sheri Trbovich looks over flight predictions for a planned high-altitude ballon flight at Weber State University's camp near Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. The camera- and equipment-carrying balloon was launched during the solar eclipse Monday. Traffic and large crowds of people in the usually rural area made it difficult to plan for the balloon's path.
Weber State University student Jon Rizzo sets up a telescope pointed towards the sun near Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Rizzo planned to shoot photos with the telescope as the solar eclipse passed over southern Idaho on Monday.
Weber State University student Malaki Ashby looks through a telescope pointed toward the sun near Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Filters were attached to the telescope that made it safe to view the sun with the naked eye.
Tents line the old play field behind the former Burton Elementary School near Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Nicole Riley and her husband have bought and renovated multiple closed schools in the area. While Burton hasn't been refinished, the Rileys decided to rent out the field to campers coming from out of town for the eclipse through Airbnb. "We started with just a few campsites, and then things really took off," Nicole said. She estimates between 150 and 200 people camped at the school.
Eclipse tourists from around the United States and around the world eat dinner on the old playground behind the former Burton Elementary School near Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Nicole Riley and her husband have bought and renovated multiple closed schools in the area. While Burton hasn't been refinished, the Rileys decided to rent out the field to campers coming from out of town for the eclipse through Airbnb.
The sun sets over Riverside Park in Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. The city of Rexburg converted the park into a camping ground, vendor village and food truck row for eclipse tourists. While thousands of people showed up, the crowds were nowhere near the tens of thousands that had been predicted.
Weber State University Professor John Sohl gives a final briefing on Sunday evening, Aug. 20, 2017, about plans for Monday morning's eclipse balloon launch.
Liz Dowell works on her computer in the light of a car near Rexburg, Idaho, on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Dowell and other students from Weber State University's HARBOR program worked late into the evening fine-tuning equipment that was scheduled to be launched on a high-altitude balloon during Monday's eclipse.
Lance Chau, left, and Neil Roberts laugh over breakfast at their camp near Rexburg, Idaho, on the morning of the eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Chau and Roberts are part of a group of search-and-rescue volunteers who came up for the weekend from Weber County. On Monday morning, they were monitoring the area via HAM radio as crowds grew.
Marcus Hebel sets up a star tracker in preparation for the eclipse in Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Hebel came to Idaho for the weekend from Germany, along with several dozen members of an astronomy club from Waghausel, Germany.
Weber State University student John Warnes assembles "Artie," an antenna that will track the high-altitude balloon that flew during the eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. WSU's HARBOR program launched the balloon with cameras and scientific instruments to shoot photos, video and measure air quality during the eclipse.
Drew Peterson sets up 360-degree cameras before attaching them to a high-altitude balloon that flew during the eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Peterson is a student from Weber State University and part of a team in the physics department that travelled to Idaho to see the total eclipse.
Ryan Lawton works on the high altitude balloon that will fly during the eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Lawton is a student from Weber State University and part of a team in the physics department that travelled to Idaho to see the total eclipse.
Students from BYU-Idaho watch the start of the solar eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Physics students from the school partnered with Weber State University for a series of experiments tied to the unusual event.
Members of Weber State University's HARBOR program fill a high-altitude balloon as they prepare to launch it during the solar eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. The experiment was tied to the eclipse, but program director John Sohl was adamant about the point of the trip. "Our goal is to watch the solar eclipse. Our secondary goal is to fly balloons," Sohl said. "It is a clear priority."
Weber State University students (in purple) launch a high-altitude balloon carrying cameras and research equipment ahead of the eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Students from BYU-Idaho (in blue) launched a separate balloon with a similar payload. The balloons rose to more than 90,000 feet before coming down several miles to the east.
Aileen Godfrey, front, leads physics students from BYU-Idaho in prayer after their high-altitude balloon popped during an experiment near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. The team was able to get a second balloon in the air during the eclipse.
Elysse Ostlund of Provo watches the solar eclipse while students from Weber State University prepare a high-altitude balloon near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
Nicole Allred of Ogden lies in the grass to watch the solar eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
Siebe Lombaert, 10, watches the eclipse from the roof of his family's RV near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Lombaert's family is from Belgium and scheduled a vacation through the western United States in conjunction with the eclipse.
Students from Weber State University watch the sun as it fully disappears behind the moon during the solar eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Dozens of WSU students gathered alongside tens of thousands of other tourists to view the eclipse near Rexburg.
John Nikoloff, left, Ryan Lawton, center, and Bill Dowell track the movement of their high-altitude balloon on a laptop during the eclipse near Rexburg, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
Members of Weber State University's HARBOR team hike across a wheat field as they try to track down the equipment from their high-altitude balloon near Rigby, Idaho, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. The balloon reached 96,106 feet before the cord was cut, which dropped the cameras and instruments back to earth.
