Achi news desk-
Eclipse mania gripped all of Mexico, the US and Canada, as the moon swept in front of the sun, blotting out daylight. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.
It was the largest eclipse crowd on the continent ever, with several hundred million people living in or near the path of the shadow, and dozens of out-of-towners pouring in.
Clouds shrouded most of Texas as the total solar eclipse began its diagonal moves across the land, starting along Mexico’s mostly clear Pacific coast and aiming for Texas and 14 other US states, before exiting the North Atlantic Ocean near Newfoundland.
Just east of Dallas, the hundreds gathered in downtown Mesquite cheered and whistled as the clouds parted in the final minutes before totality. When the sun finally became shrouded, the crowd perked up, removing their eclipse glasses to soak up the unforgettable view of the sun’s corona, or spiky outer atmosphere, and Venus shining to the right.
City officials reminded everyone that the last total solar eclipse in these areas was in the 1870s, which makes this eclipse even more special. Eclipse-themed music turned off as the big moment approached.
“Oh my God, it’s so dark,” marveled Ayanna Brown, 14, who watched alongside her grandfather, Mesquite Mayor Daniel Aleman Jr. “I’m a huge science geek, and it’s amazing.”
The weather also cooperated at the last minute near Austin. “I will never cancel it,” said Ahmed Hossein of Austin, who had the eclipse on his calendar for a year. Hussey and his family were among hundreds who gathered on the Southwestern University lawn in Georgetown, Texas, with blankets, lawn chairs and country music.
The show kicked off in the Pacific before noon EDT (2am AEST). As total darkness descended on the Mexican resort town of Mazatlán, onlookers’ faces were illuminated only by their cell phone screens.
The cliff-hanging uncertainty added to the drama. But the overcast skies in Mesquite near Dallas didn’t bother Erin Pronberger, who was in town on business and brought her eclipse glasses.
“We’re always just rush, rush, rush,” she said.
“But it’s an event that we can only take a moment, a few seconds that it’s going to happen and embrace it.”
A festival outside Austin ended early Monday because afternoon storms were in the forecast. The festival organizers told everyone to pack up and leave.
Sara Lanau, of Westfield, Vermont, woke up at 4 a.m. Monday to take her 16-year-old niece to nearby Jay Peak Ski Resort to catch the eclipse after a morning on the slopes.
“This will be a first for me and a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Lano, who was dressed in a purple metallic ski suit with an eclipse T-shirt underneath.
At Niagara Falls National Park, tourists streamed in under cloudy skies with buggies, buggies, coolers and lawn chairs. Park officials expected a large crowd at the popular site overlooking the falls.
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During Monday’s total eclipse, the moon slid right in front of the sun, completely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the Sun’s outer atmosphere or corona visible, will be long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent, and for planets, stars and perhaps even a comet to emerge.
The unsynchronized blackout lasts up to four minutes and 28 seconds. That’s nearly twice as much as during the US coast-to-coast eclipse seven years ago because the moon is closer to Earth. It will be another 21 years before the US sees another total solar eclipse of this scale.
It will take just one hour and 40 minutes for the moon’s shadow to run more than 6500 km across the continent.
Eye protection with appropriate eclipse glasses and filters is necessary to look at the Sun, except when it moves completely away from the eye during an eclipse.
The complete route – about 185 km wide – this time encircles several major cities, including Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo and Montreal. An estimated 44 million people live within the track, with several hundred million more within 320 km.
“This may be the most watched astronomical event in history,” said National Air and Space Museum curator Thistle Muir-Harmony, who was standing outside the museum in Washington, waiting for the partial eclipse.
Experts from NASA and dozens of universities are stationed along the orbit, ready to launch research rockets and weather balloons and conduct experiments. The seven astronauts of the International Space Station will also be monitored, 435 km up.
