Total solar eclipse 2024 highlights: Rare phenomenon darkens North America’s skies
Path of totality spans parts of Mexico, eastern Canada and 13 US states, as experts give information about how to safely see it and take pictures
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A total eclipse of the Sun plunged a stretch of North America into darkness on Monday, with millions of spectators across the US, Mexico and Canada hoping to catch a glimpse of the rare event.
It was North America’s biggest eclipse crowd ever, with the path of totality crossing directly over 44 million people.
More were drawn in from across the world thanks to the lure of clear skies and up to four and a half minutes of midday darkness in some places.
Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.
The best weather was seen in Mexico and at the tail end of the eclipse in Vermont and Maine, as well as New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
“Cloud cover is one of the trickier things to forecast,” National Weather Service meteorologist Alexa Maines explained at Cleveland’s Great Lakes Science Centre on Sunday. “At the very least, it won’t snow.”
Total solar eclipse appears behind clouds
Despite the cloud coverage in Texas, people on the ground are still getting a chance to see the total solar eclipse as it passes over head.
It’s not as clear as the earlier shots from Mexico, but it’s still an impressive sight. Here’s how it looks from Kerrville, Texas:
Crowds gather to view eclipse
Viewing conditions were close to perfect in large parts of Mexico as the total solar eclipse passed over.
Cloud coverage in Texas didn’t fully stop people from witnessing the celestial spectacle.
Further north in the US, people travelled from all over the country - and the world - to enjoy unobstructed views.
Where is the total solar eclipse now?
The eclipse has reached Arkansas on its path of totality.
Here’s how it currently looks from Russellville:
Next stop Tennessee, then Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermonth, New Hampshire and Maine, before it crosses over the border to Canada.
Speaking of Canada...
View from Canada: Crowds converge in Montreal for ‘eclipse of the century’
Scenes at the hub of the Montreal Metro system, UQAM-Berri, are unprecedented. The city’s underground lines converge on the station – which has a link to Parc Jean Drapeau, on an island in the St Lawrence River. This is where the main eclipse party is taking place, and hundreds of thousands of people are trying to get there.
Despite crowds funnelling in to a narrow corridor leading down the the platform, the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed – with police and Metro officials wishing passengers a good day. In the park itself, a special arena has been created for the “eclipse of the century”.
With 90 minutes before the brief 90 seconds of totality, the crowd is estimated at 200,000.
View from Vermont: Pac Man arrives in the Green Mountain State
The partial eclipse has begun in Vermont – and it looks like a favourite video game character.
“It looks like Pacman,” said Robin Sparer, 63-year-old from Maryland. “Mrs Pacman.”
Her friend Johanna Nathanson, 61, thought of a different image.
“It’s like an upside down piece of cheese,” she said.
They were at the Bootleggers Basin reservoir near Jeffersonville, VT – Nathanson owns a cabin nearby but they were surprised a few dozen people had turned up to the locally-known spot.
“But why wouldn’t you? It’s an incredible opportunity,” said Ms Sparer.
They’d been watching a livestream of people across the country seeing the eclipse – from the crowds at Niagara Falls to a stadium in Ohio – and felt like nature in Vermont was the premium eclipse option.
“This is so much better than sitting in cleveland,” said Ms Sparer.
But cloud is coming in – “dammit” was Ms Sparer’s review.
Total solar eclipse reaches Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio, is now under the path of totality.
Shots from Nasa’s Salvatore Oriti at the Glenn Research Center show solar flares emerging from behind the Moon.
Staff at The Independent’s New York office enjoy the eclipse
Some pretty excited faces in New York, where staff at The Independent are on the street to take in the views.
How the solar eclipse looks from space
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can see not one, but two views of the solar eclipse.
Out of their windows they can see the Moon passing in front of the Sun, as well as the Moon’s shadow passing over the Earth.
Nasa shared a clip of how the solar eclipse appears from space:
Moon ‘blocks' Sun
Nasa is having some fun elsewhere on its social media accounts.
The official @NasaMoon account ‘blocked’ the @NasaSun account on X (formerly Twitter).
The view from a Rhode Island daycare
Children at a daycare in Providence, Rhode Island, have been enjoying the eclipse through some colourful headwear.
Céleste, 5, watched her first ever solar eclipse through a mask she decorated herself.
Her verdict of the celestial spectacle? “I love it!”
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