The moon darkened the daytime sky as it swept across North America during a total solar eclipse on Monday (April 8), thrilling tens of millions of skywatchers who had their eyes glued to the sky.
All of North America and Central America experienced a partial solar eclipse, but only those areas within the path of totality – an area about 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide and 10,000 miles long (16,000 kilometer) route – saw the moon completely eclipse the sun.
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The path of totality crossed four states in Mexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit, Durango, and Coahuila) before extending across fifteen U.S. states (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine) and seven Canadian provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland).
In the U.S. alone, about 31.6 million people live along the path, NASA officials say.
“It was super surreal, I didn’t expect that,” Diamond Cromwell, an 18-year-old freshman studying business at the State University of New York Potsdam in Potsdam, New York, who canceled classes so students and the public could watch the solar eclipse at a festival. “It definitely exceeded my expectations out of the park.”
Cromwell nearly missed the entirety of the 3 minutes and 14 seconds beginning at 3:24 PM EDT, where the moon blocked the sun over Potsdam, causing a ring of the sun’s corona to shine through a thin layer of clouds. “I had mine [eclipse] Glasses on, I didn’t know you could actually take your glasses off during totality.’ Another spectator urged him to take it off and he could see the view. ‘It was good, really good.’
What causes a total solar eclipse?
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A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon is the same size in the sky as the sun, or slightly larger, completely covering the sun’s disk, giving observers a view of the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona.
The apparent size of the moon in the sky – and whether it can completely cover the sun’s disk during an eclipse – depends on the moon’s distance from Earth. The moon has a somewhat elliptical orbit around the Earth, so at two points per month it is farthest (apogee) and closest (perigee) to the Earth, making the moon appear slightly smaller and slightly larger than average in our sky.
The path of totality made landfall in Mazatlan, Mexico around 9:51 a.m. local time (12:51 p.m. EDT, 4:51 p.m. GMT). At 10:21 local time (1:21 PM EDT/5:21 PM GMT), this region became the first region to experience totality. It took about 3 hours and 16 minutes for the moon’s shadow to cross Soil before setting off at sunset into the Atlantic Ocean north of the Azores.
Leading up to totality in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where TechRadar contributor and Space.com contributor John Loeffler was stationed awaiting the eclipse, there was a great atmosphere and camaraderie among the eclipse observers.
“I liken this to the atmosphere of a tailgate,” Paul Ruff, who traveled from Iowa City, IA to Poplar Bluff, told Loeffler. “People are very nice, share their equipment and let you see what they see.”
Not all of the millions of people who traveled to the path of totality to witness this event were rewarded with an unobstructed view of the total solar eclipse. This is a natural occurrence and nature does not always play a role.
Space.com’s Daisy Dobrijevic traveled from Britain to Rochester, New York, to watch the moon begin to cover the sun around 2:15 PM EDT (6:15 PM GMT). The event was somewhat dampened by uncooperative cloud cover.
Dobrijevic noted that even with the clouds, spectators got to see some fascinating eclipse effects, as the moon’s eclipse caused the clouds to change color. The cloud cover also didn’t dampen the crowds when the eclipse began.
“A cheer erupted as people caught the first glimpse of the total solar eclipse from Rochester, and the moon began to take a bite out of the sun!” said Dobrijevic.
When is the next total solar eclipse?
Eclipse hunters won’t have to wait too long until the next solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, which will be visible from Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean and Spain. At the point of the greatest solar eclipse near Iceland, totality will last 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
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As for North America, the next total solar eclipse will occur on March 30, 2033, and will be visible in Alaska. After this, the US states of Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota and parts of Canada will experience a total solar eclipse on August 23, 2044.
Almost exactly one year later, on August 12, 2045, a total solar eclipse will be visible in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, as well as the Caribbean and South America.
Editor’s Note: Space.com senior writer Rob Lea and writer Alex Cox contributed to this story from London, UK. Editor-in-chief Tariq Malik contributed to this story from Potsdam, New York. Space.com contributor John Loeffler contributed to this story from Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
Submit your story photos! If you take a photo of the April 8 total solar eclipse or any of these strange effects and would like to share it with Space.com readers, please submit photos, videos, comments, and your name, location, and permission to use the content Unpleasant spacephotos@space.com.