Teacher Captures Breathtaking Eclipse Pics In Greater Morristown

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ — Heading out to take a picture of the recent solar eclipse was not as simple as pointing and shooting.

James Miller, a science teacher at Chatham High School, said Monday the process to photograph the eclipse was a carefully planned family event for him, which began the day before on Wednesday.

Miller, his wife and daughter first scoped out what he called a "suitable viewing location," which they found on Hanover Avenue in Morris Township.

"Trees and hills in this area make viewing a sunrise tricky, so a hilltop location was key," he said.

At 4:45 a.m. on June 10, the three of them made their journey to the spot they picked, for what Miller said was "a good vantage point for the direction we knew we would need to be facing."

Another layer of planning, he said, to not only view and photograph the solar eclipse, which happened at about 5:45 a.m., was wearing special solar glasses and lenses needed to safely view it.

The American Astronomical Society, a group with funding from the National Science Foundation and which its Solar Eclipse Task Force helped to prepare eclipse-chasers for the "Great American Eclipse" on Aug. 21, 2017, has a list of solar eclipse glasses, also known as "solar shades" and solar viewers, on its website.

Miller shared his photos with students, who he said did not take their own photos. Several of his colleagues were also wowed by them.

The annular eclipse on June 10, what it was classified as with the moon looking smaller than the sun, was also nicknamed a "Ring of Fire" eclipse, because of the fiery-appearing ring behind the moon. That ring reportedly glowed for just under four minutes.

The best visibility for the June 10 annular eclipse was on the east coast and especially in the northeast.

According to the American Astronomical Society, the next eclipses are expected on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023 and Monday, April 8, 2024, with best-expected views on the West Coast of the United States for the first; and East Coast for the one in 2024.

Jennifer Jean Miller and Megan VerHelst contributed reporting to this story.

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