HATTIESBURG, Miss. ( WHLT ) – Crowds gathered at Southern Miss for a look at Monday’s partial solar eclipse.

Hundreds of students and faculty gathered outside of the Walker Science Building for an eclipse watch party.

Solar eclipse glasses were handed out as professors and students from the Department of Math and Science explained what happens during a solar eclipse.

Clouds and rain covered most of the view, but students did get to see a small glimpse during breaks in the clouds.

“This is Mississippi. Weather is changeable, and so, it’s not a guarantee we’ll ever have good weather. So, we got lucky the first couple of times recently. Right now, not so much. But yes, it is what it is, as they say,” said Associated Professor Chris Sirola.

“You can see like a curved moon like in a child’s book. But it was really cool. It’s like orange. It’s super bright when it actually comes out. And I thought that I saw it for a moment without the glasses, and it started hurting. So, you have to take these seriously. But it was really, really cool,” said Tori Faith Jones, a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM).

The Hattiesburg area saw around 87% coverage from the eclipse.

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