People across North America — from a Mexican seashore to Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border — cast their eyes skyward on Monday for a total eclipse, cheering the celestial show and, in Arkansas, getting married en masse.
Where clear skies prevailed, observers along the direct path of the eclipse were treated to the rare spectacle of the moon appearing as a dark orb creeping in front of the sun, briefly blocking out all but a brilliant halo of light, or corona, around, the sun’s outer edge.
It was North America’s first total eclipse since 2017.
As totality hit at a campground in North Hudson in upstate New York, hundreds of people shrieked with excitement.
Mexico’s beachside resort town of Mazatlan was the first major viewing spot along the “path of totality.”
At Niagara Falls, people viewed the eclipse next to the roaring waterfall, with hundreds dressed in costumes to look like the sun.
The solar eclipse is seen through the clouds on April 8 in Niagara Falls, New York. — AFP
People view the eclipse on the campus of Southern Illinois University on April 8 in Carbondale, Illinois. — AFP
The solar eclipse is seen above the Washington Monument on April 08 in Washington, DC. — AFP
An airplane passes near the total solar eclipse during the Hoosier Cosmic Celebration at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana, US on April 8. — Reuters
Couples view the solar eclipse during totality at a mass wedding at the Total Eclipse of the Heart festival on April 8 in Russellville, Arkansas. — AFP
The moon partially eclipses the sun, after a total solar eclipse, as seen from Niagara Falls, New York, US on April 8. — Reuters
A woman watches a total solar eclipse, where the moon will blot out the sun, at Niagara Falls, New York, US April 8. — Reuters
Service dogs wear goggles before boarding Southwest flight 1252 from Dallas, Texas to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which passed through the path of totality on April 08 in Dallas, Texas. — AFP
The Statue of Liberty is seen during a partial solar eclipse, where the moon partially blocks out the sun, at Liberty Island in New York City, US, April 8. — Reuters
Passengers aboard Southwest flight 1252 from Dallas, Texas to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania crouch down to try and catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse as the plane passes through the path of totality on April 08. — AFP
People watch the solar eclipse on April 08 in Houlton, Maine. Millions of people have flocked to areas across North America that are in the “path of totality” in order to experience a total solar eclipse. — AFP
People gather to watch the partial eclipse at the campus of the Universidad Autónoma de México “Las Islas” on April 08 in Mexico City, Mexico. — AFP
A girl looks and points toward the sky as the moon begins to partially eclipse the sun in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua State, Mexico, on April 8. — AFP
People gather at Edge at Hudson Yarns in Manhattan in New York City during a partial solar eclipse on April 8. — AFP
Header image: In this composite of 7 photographs, the moon passes by the sun into totality creating the diamond ring effect during a total solar eclipse in Bloomington, Indiana, on April 8. — AFP
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