Historic… or almost. Millions of people gathered Monday to watch a rare total eclipse cross the northern United States, from Mexico to Canada through the United States, a spectacular celestial event temporarily plunging the day into darkness. In city after city, the cries of amazed crowds followed NASA's live video broadcast, broadcast from multiple locations along the path of the eclipse.
In the United States alone, more than 30 million people live in the area where it was supposed to be visible, for a few minutes at most, according to the American space agency. The event began at 6:07 p.m. on the Pacific coast of Mexico (7:07 p.m. in Paris). Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was in the seaside city of Mazatlan, where he looked forward to an "unforgettable day."
The trajectory then began to cross the first of the 15 American states on the program – from Texas to Maine – before heading towards eastern Canada, where it must end its course. In total, the Moon's shadow was expected to move over America in about an hour and a half.
The eclipse started in Mexico before crossing 15 American states and ending in Canada
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The event began shortly after 6 p.m. on Mexico's Pacific coast
Reuters/Daniel Becerril
Special protective glasses were out
Reuters/Henry Romero
The moon seems to swallow the sun, from Carbondale, Illinois
Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
New Yorkers in Times Square also watched for the eclipse
Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
Golfers put down clubs at the Augusta Masters to watch the moon veil the sun
Reuters/Mike Blake
The next total eclipse visible in the United States will occur in 2044
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Near Niagara Falls, 309 people broke the record for the most people dressed as the sun
Reuters/Jenna Zucker
From Mazatlan, Mexico, the sun kept its orange hue
Reuters/Henry Romero