When the moon came between earth and sun

By Cheptiony Mutai

One morning, children around the country woke up to a dull day. And instead of getting brighter, it grew darker!

It was Friday, January 15 and a solar eclipse was taking place. In many parts of the country, darkness was experienced for five minutes at around 8.30am.

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. Children from Nairobi were excited to see this rare event.

"The lesson had not yet started when the teacher asked us to go outside. She then told us there was an eclipse. It was dark and cloudy. Then the eclipse occurred. It was very bright. I felt pain in my eyes and looked down. We were advised not to look at it directly as we could go blind," Carlos Nzioka, 10, a pupil at Unity Primary School in Nairobi told Twinkle.

But Luke Mwangi, nine, knew the sight could hurt his eyes.

"Our teacher told us to view the eclipse through black polythene paper. It was the first time I saw an eclipse," says the pupil of Nairobi’s Precious Gift Academy.

Melissa Syokau, 10, was expecting the eclipse.

"I knew it would happen as I had seen the weather forecast on TV. Scientists called meteorologists predicted it. I was armed with black goggles that I used to look at it. It was very interesting and I watched it for nearly half an hour," the Buruburu One Primary School pupil says.

Rolyne Adhiambo, 10, a pupil at Busara Primary School, Nairobi, was also ready for the eclipse.

"I had been waiting for it for two days. The weather forecaster said it would be dark for five minutes. I thought it would be total darkness. But the bright light from the eclipse almost blinded me. It affected my whole brain. It was not a good experience for me," says Rolyne.