so i was technically wrong. eclipses - from beginning to end - last for hours.

here’s the link

In general, though, a total eclipse takes on the order of a couple of hours from start to finish, with totality (the part where the sun is completely blocked out) on the order of a couple of minutes.

i was thinking about the part where the sun is completely blocked out, when it gets really really dark outside, it only lasts a couple of minutes. there was an eclipse when i was in high school and it got creepy dark during lunch time, but it only lasted a couple of minutes.

here’s another good link, with some rather pertinent information:

In a solar eclipse, the maximum possible length of totality is about 7 minutes. The partial phases add considerably more time, so that the entire eclipse seen from any given location can also last several hours. However, the partial phases of a total solar eclipse are much less noticeable to the ordinary observer, and might be missed entirely.

in the Heroes episode, as soon as the moon started touching the sun, it got really dark outside - when in reality most of the eclipse would have gone unnoticed until the central 7 minutes.

so technically i was wrong; eclipses can last for hours. but since the noticable part of an eclipse only lasts a few minutes, i feel i was right in the spirit of the matter.