This was one event where I'll let the photos do most of the speaking for me. It was unforgettable. The crowd was building with excitement as the eclipse began and finally when it went dark there were some cheers and then silence across the field as everyone took in the magical event.

An assembled image of the annular solar eclipse as viewed from Albuquerque, NM, Sunday, May 20, 2012. At bottom right, near the end of the eclipse, the sun was setting below the horizon, which is the reason it is cut off along the bottom. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

Joseph Vancleave explains how he made his "pinholioscopes" to view the annular solar eclipse. Vancleave joined in the festivities at the eclipse viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

Second from the right, Cal Harr, from Centennial, CO, takes a look through his solar glasses while getting his camera set up to photograph the annular solar eclipse while taking part in the viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

Xavier Martin, 8, looks at the sun through a telescope manned by TAAS member Steve Welch, at right, during the annular solar eclipse viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

The setting sun appears like a shark fin as it dips below the horizon while completing the annular solar eclipse as viewed near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

Jaxon Wright, 4, looks at the annular solar eclipse through special glasses while sitting on his mother, Tiffany Wright's, shoulders during the viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

Dave Gallaher, from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO, watches the annular solar eclipse projected into his shadow during the viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

With her head under a green blanket, Mariko Komae, and behind her Shinya Sato both from Ottawa, Canada, watch the annular solar eclipse during a a viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. Sato is a hobbyist astrophotographer and they flew to Albuquerque just for the eclipse. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

At right, Amy Estelle, with The Albuquerque Astronomical Society, adjusts the telescope, as Joseph Salazar, 9, waits to take a look at left, during the annular solar eclipse viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012 in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

Children watch the annular solar eclipse during a viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

A person cheers as they watch the annular solar eclipse during the viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012 in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

From right, Deanna Creighton and Crystal Humble, both from Albuquerque, watch the annular solar eclipse during the eclipse viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

John Converse, of Albuquerque, takes a cell phone photo of the annular solar eclipse through the lens of a pair of solar glasses during the eclipse viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

Gabriel Turner, 2, gets a little help from his father, David Turner, while viewing the annular solar eclipse during the eclipse viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

Karen Converse, from Albuquerque, watches the annular solar eclipse through a welder’s helmet during the eclipse viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)

People view the annular solar eclipse during the eclipse viewing party near the Hard Rock Casino Presents the Pavilion, Sunday, May 20, 2012, in Albuquerque, NM. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)