‘Spectacular’ total solar eclipse leaves millions in North America spellbound
- North America gazed upward for the first total solar eclipse to darken the continent in seven years
- After Monday’s spectacle, North America will not see another total solar eclipse until 2044
Eclipse mania gripped North America on Monday as a breathtaking celestial spectacle captivated tens of millions of people, offering a rare blend of scientific interest, commercial opportunity and daytime partying.
The moon’s shadow plunged the Pacific coast of Mexico into total darkness at 11.07am local time then swept across the United States at supersonic speed, returning to the ocean over Canada’s Atlantic coast just under an hour-and-a-half after landfall.
Festivals, viewing parties and even mass weddings took place along the eclipse’s “path of totality”, where the sun’s corona glowed from behind the moon in a display that left crowds awestruck.
“It was spectacular. I had never witnessed anything like it,” said Paulina Nava, a 36-year-old resident of the beachside Mexican city of Mazatlan.
People “screamed, they applauded, some were taking photos, others were kissing,” she added. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who travelled to the city, called the event a “very beautiful, unforgettable day.”