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| A rare complete solar eclipse across North America. This is when the moon, the sun and earth all line up. Usually, the moon's orbit angle keeps this from happening.
Sky-gazers stood transfixed across North America Monday as the Sun
vanished behind the Moon in a rare total eclipse that swept the continent
coast-to-coast for the first time in nearly a century.
Millions of die-hard eclipse chasers and amateur star watchers alike
converged in cities along the path of totality, a 70-mile (113-kilometer) wide
swath cutting through 14 US states, where the Moon briefly blocked out all
light from the Sun.
"It was incredibly beautiful. I am moved to tears," said
Heather Riser, a 54-year-old librarian from Virginia, sitting on a blanket in
Charleston's grassy Waterfront Park where thousands had gathered to watch.
Festivals, rooftop parties, weddings, camping trips and astronomy
meet-ups were held nationwide for what was likely most heavily photographed and
documented eclipse in modern times, thanks to the era of social media.
The blackest part of the shadow, known as totality because the Moon
blocks all the Sun's light from the Earth, began over Lincoln Beach, Oregon at
1716 GMT.
Crowds whooped and cheered at the first sign of darkness.
Just inland, more than 100,000 people gathered at Madras, Oregon
typically a town of 7,000 in what experts described as perfect viewing
conditions.
"I've wanted to see one of these my whole life, since I've been
studying astronomy, since I was a kid," said Christine Sapio, a science
professor. "I thought I was prepared for it I totally wasn't."
"I was shaking, I was crying. I was just totally taken aback by
just how beautiful it was."
In Los Angeles, "oohs and aahs" emanated from the crowd of
thousands gathered at the Griffith Observatory in the hills above the city as
the partial eclipse began.
Many had hiked to avoid massive traffic jams. Some watchers had
fashioned their own pinhole projectors out of cardboard and scotch tape. Others
watched while wearing special, dark solar eclipse glasses.
- 'Just awesome' -
In downtown Charleston, South Carolina, the last point in the path of
totality, crowds of tourists some in special eclipse T-shirts and star-printed
trousers staked out prime spots on the bustling city's storied waterfront.
Forecasts of thunderstorms threatened to block the view, but the eclipse
managed to peek through the wispy clouds.
Onlookers in Waterfront Park screamed and cheered as the sky went dark
in the middle of the afternoon, streetlamps came on, and a rumble of thunder
could be heard in the distance.
"It was just awesome," said Dave Lichtenauer, age 63, a
retired electrical engineer, describing the event as "partially
spiritual."
"The crowd here was very into it," he added, remarking on the
diversity and peacefulness of the masses.
"You don't get many chances to experience that."
One bar had installed outdoor speakers blasting Bonnie Tyler's mega-hit "Total
Eclipse of the Heart" which she performed live on a cruise ship sailing
through the path of totality.
The unofficial anthem for the celestial show soared to the top of the
iTunes charts, outdoing even record-smashing pop song "Despacito."
Cloudy weather and thunderstorms dashed viewers' hopes of seeing the
eclipse in some places, including Missouri.
Some of the clearest views were along the West Coast.
- 'Don't look' -
In the US capital, where 81 percent totality occurred, Donald Trump
watched the partial eclipse from the White House with his wife Melania and son
Barron although the president appeared to have missed the memo on eclipse do's
and don'ts.
At one point, Trump glanced skyward without protective eyewear a big
no-no, according to experts. "Don't look," an aide shouted to him. He
later donned glasses.
Eclipse watchers also flocked to Washington's National Air and Space
Museum, where solar telescopes were set up for the occasion.
In Mexico, where there was a partial eclipse, astronomy buffs set up
telescopes fitted with special sun filters in parks and squares in various
cities.
Eclipse watchers often describe being overcome by emotion as the sky
goes black, birds return to their nests and the air chills.
"It is such an incredible, sensory-overload kind of event,"
eclipse-chaser Fred Espenak, a retired NASA astrophysicist, said from the first
total solar eclipse he saw in the United States back in 1970.
Scientists planned to study the eclipse to learn more about the
super-hot corona, or outer atmosphere of the Sun.
"It is really exciting to see so many people interested in nature
and science and this amazing phenomenon," said Kwayera Davis, an adjunct
professor of astronomy at the College of Charleston.
- 'Sharing a cosmic event' -
After weeks of turmoil triggered by the race-fueled violence in
Charlottesville, Virginia, some commentators welcomed the national feel-good
moment afforded by the Great American Eclipse.
"The divided United States of America will unite today, sharing a
cosmic event predicted by the methods and tools of science," tweeted the
US astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson who earlier advised people to "put
down your smartphone and experience this one emotionally, psychologically,
physically."
The CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, drew a more somber parallel
between the day's spectacle and the country's challenges.
"Wish the moon wasn't the only thing casting a shadow across the
country. We got through one, we'll get through the other," he tweeted.
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