![2017 – The Year of the Eclipse](http://townsquare.media/site/118/files/2017/12/eclipse_crowd1.jpg?w=630&h=427&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
2017 – The Year of the Eclipse
For science, quite a few events made headlines in 2017, including some earthquake action in Montana and elsewhere around the world, a space rock visiting the solar system on a fast pass from elsewhere in the galaxy, and the total eclipse.
Though a solar eclipse happens almost every year somewhere in the world, this one was special.
Its path took it from coast to coast in North America.
In Hamilton, we only saw a partial eclipse, yet hundreds of people stopped what they were doing on that bright summer morning and looked up. The crowd at the Bitterroot College in Hamilton was surprisingly large, and college staff had a good supply of the proper eyeglasses to protect eyes.
Quite a few Bitterroot Valley folks drove a couple of hours to get into the "path of totality" and experience the awesome darkness of a total solar eclipse in Idaho.
A national event that also brought people together. And the photos - wow!
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