Total solar eclipse photos, videos and reactions from the path of totality

After a Delta flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Detroit during the eclipse, passengers shared their enthusiasm about the unusual journey.

The airline's resident meteorologist, Warren Weston, was on the flight and said that while there were concerns about a thunderstorm in Dallas this afternoon, the experienced pilots delivered a remarkable experience.

"I thought it was great," Weston said in a video shared on X by journalist Brendan Gutenschwager. "You can tell it got very dark. I looked out of the window and I could see the shadow out on the ground. You could see it on the horizon kind of diminishing as you went further out, so it was obvious that we were right in the totality. I thought that was pretty cool."

Weston said he and his team planned 24 to 36 hours in advance to be sure the route was perfect.

"We looked at a lot of data to be able to tell where we were going to enter the eclipse, that we were going to have good viewing, good visibility," he explained. "The first part of our flight, we were kind of in the clouds over Texas and part of Arkansas, then they opened up."

"It worked out pretty well," Weston said.

University students, faculty and fellow onlookers gathered at campuses across the United States to watch Monday's solar eclipse. It may have lasted only a few minutes, but based on the numerous posts shared on X, the memories they gained will last a lifetime.

As students and faculty gathered at Baylor University’s Fountain Mall in Waco, Texas, a very wise techie decided to set up their phone on the roof of a building and capture a time-lapse video of the eclipse.

In the video, you see the sky go from bright to dark as the moon travels past the sun.

The university later shared photos of onlookers gazing at the sky on its official X account: "No matter how you prepare — a total solar eclipse is truly, in every sense of the word, awesome," the post read.

Yahoo News' Colin Campbell documented the scene during the eclipse in Sylvan Beach, N.Y. Slide the bar on the photo below to see how dark the sky became.

Elementary schools across the United States hosted solar eclipse viewing parties. Schools that weren't on the path of totality livestreamed the event with eclipse-themed snacks.

In Niagara Falls, N.Y., a popular eclipse viewing destination, photographer Scott Gable captured images of the sky above the falls showing just how dark it got during the eclipse. Slide the bar over the photo below to see how the sky changed.

Unfortunately, due to cloud cover, not everyone had a clear view of Monday's solar eclipse. Some people used social media to express their dissatisfaction with their viewing experiences.

NASA and medical experts urged people to wear proper eclipse glasses or a "safe handheld solar viewer" while viewing the solar eclipse. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, looking at the sun during the eclipse could burn a person's retina and lead to serious vision complications.

The Miami Herald reports:

Read more from the Miami Herald.

Couples in Trenton, Ohio, and Russellville, Ark., got married Monday against the celestial backdrop of a solar eclipse.

Participants in Ohio were told to bring their eclipse glasses and marriage licenses to the "once in a lifetime wedding." The town's mayor officiated the mass wedding ceremony at Trenton Community Park, about 240 miles from Cleveland. After the ceremony, the newlyweds received a souvenir and a Bundt cake. The next eclipse in Ohio won't happen until 2099.

More than 200 couples in the Arkansas "Elope at the Eclipse" ceremony exchanged vows just before the eclipse reached totality at 1:50 p.m. CT. The ceremony was free and newlyweds were reimbursed their $60 marriage license fee, according to The Hill. The mass wedding capped the weekend's Total Eclipse of the Heart festival.

Unless you live or plan to be in Alaska, you're going to have to wait a little while to see another total solar eclipse in the United States.

After Alaska's total solar eclipse on March 30, 2033, the next one visible in the U.S. is not due to occur until Aug. 22, 2044, in North Dakota and Montana. And the next total solar eclipse to be visible across the U.S. won't happen until Aug. 12, 2045, with the path of totality stretching across 10 states, from California to Florida.

NASA had some fun on the X account for the moon on Monday, throwing figurative and literal shade at the Earth's sun by blocking its social media page during the total solar eclipse.

In Greers Ferry, Ark., just north of Little Rock, photographer Brad Vest captured images for Yahoo News of the sky above Greers Ferry Dam along the Little Red River. The lights on the dam came on briefly during totality.

On Monday, Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" reached No.1 on the U.S. iTunes charts as a total solar eclipse crossed much of the nation.

The single was first released in 1983 and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

The total solar eclipse has ended in the United States, with the moon completely passing by the sun in Caribou, Maine, at 4:40 p.m. ET.

Dawn Standridge, Jason Wakinyancikala and Christa Ogden celebrated the total solar eclipse at Wheelock Academy in Millerton, Okla.

The festivities honor a Choctaw Nation tradition in which Choctaws scare away a mischievous black squirrel who is attempting to eat the sun during a total solar eclipse.

In Piedras Negras, Mexico, photographer Sergio Flores captured these images for Yahoo News looking toward Eagle Pass, Texas, showing just how dark the sky turned there during Monday's total solar eclipse.

New York City was not in the path of totality for Monday's total solar eclipse, but that did not stop New Yorkers from stopping to look. One popular spot for viewing was the observation deck atop Midtown Manhattan's Hudson Yards, where several hundred people gathered to experience the partial eclipse 100 stories up.

Eclipse viewers gathered in Central Park in New York City on Monday even though the city is outside the path of totality.

Except during the brief period of totality, it is never safe to look directly at an eclipse without specialized eye protection. Looking at the intense light from the sun even for just a few seconds can cause permanent damage to the retina, the part of the eye directly responsible for vision.

"You can view the eclipse directly without proper eye protection only when the moon completely obscures the sun’s bright face, during the brief and spectacular period known as totality," NASA explains. "You’ll know it’s safe when you can no longer see any part of the sun through eclipse glasses or a solar viewer."

See these safety guidelines for viewing solar eclipses.

When in doubt, just remember: Never look directly at the sun.

• Read more: Here's what happens if you look at the eclipse — and how to see it safely

U.S. politicians, famous landmarks and even some of the furry residents on Sesame Street took to X to join in on the solar eclipse fun across the U.S. Have a look!

📍 The city of Caribou, Maine — one of the last U.S. cities along the path of totality — began experiencing it at 3:32 p.m. ET. It's expected to last there just two minutes, until 3:34 p.m. ET.

📍 The city of Burlington, Vt. — another popular destination among eclipse tourists — began experiencing totality at 3:26 p.m. ET. It's expected to last three minutes, until 3:29 p.m. ET.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for parts of eastern Texas and northern Louisiana until 8 p.m. CT.

Included in the tornado watch is a portion of Texas in the path of totality.

Here's how the eclipse looked in the Mexican beach city of Mazatlán — the first place in North America to experience totality — in this video is courtesy of NASA.

📍 Niagara Falls, N.Y. — a popular destination among eclipse tourists — began experiencing totality at 3:18 p.m. ET. It's expected to last three minutes, until 3:21 p.m. ET.

📍 The city of Cleveland began experiencing totality at 3:13 p.m. ET. It's expected to last about four minutes, until 3:17 p.m. ET.

📍 Indianapolis — which is hosting what’s being billed as the world’s largest eclipse viewing party at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — began experiencing totality at 3:06 p.m. ET. It's expected to last three minutes, until 3:09 p.m. ET.

As the eclipse's path of totality slowly moves from Texas to Maine, reports of traffic snarls are popping up in states near the path of totality, including Maine, Indiana, and from Michigan into Ohio.

📍 The city of Little Rock, Ark., began experiencing totality at 1:51 p.m. local time. It's expected to last three minutes, until 1:54 p.m. CT.

Sky-gazers in Mazatlán, Mexico, were the first to experience full totality during Monday’s total solar eclipse. Crowds there witnessed the totality at 11:09 a.m. PT/2:09 p.m. ET.

Here’s what eclipse watchers viewed:

Two special Delta Air Lines flights will fly along the path of totality during the solar eclipse Monday.

According to Delta, two planes departing from Texas — DL 1218 from Austin and DL 1010 from Dallas Fort Worth — are bound for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Passengers have already begun sharing photos from onboard.

CNN correspondent Pete Muntean is onboard flight. He said in a video posted to X that the flight will go above clouds, avoiding concerns about weather experienced by those on the ground.

Other travelers shared what’s included on the flight, including limited edition SunChips and a map of the path of totality.

Dallas and Austin — which expecting an influx of more than 1 million eclipse tourists — just experienced totality, though cloud cover obscured the highly-anticipated celestial event.

📍In Austin, totality began at 1:35 p.m. CT, lasting until 1:38 p.m. CT.

📍In Dallas, totality began at 1:40 p.m. CT, lasting until 1:44 p.m. CT.

Four-year-old Judah Terlep of Blue Mound, Ill., is geared up in Carbondale, Ill., on Monday for his first total solar eclipse. The partial eclipse begins there at 12:42 p.m. CT.

📍 Eagle Pass, Texas — the first city in the U.S. along the path of totality — began experiencing it at 1:27 p.m. local time. Totality is expected to last about four minutes, until 1:31 p.m. CT.

It's cloudy there, but it hasn't deterred the eclipse watchers.

Although Los Angeles isn't on the path of totality for Monday's solar eclipse, Mayor Karen Bass is urging residents to take precautions should they try to view it.

According to CBS News, a partial solar eclipse became visible in Los Angeles at 10:06 a.m. PT. The eclipse is expected to peak at 11:12 a.m. PT and residents will see 49% coverage of the sun. The partial eclipse will end at 12:22 p.m. PT.

📍 The small Mexican beach city of Mazatlán became the first place in North America to experience the totality phase of the total solar eclipse at 11:09 a.m. PT/2:09 p.m. ET, when the moon completely blocked the face of the sun.

It was expected to last four minutes and 20 seconds.

President Biden issued a safety reminder Monday to eclipse viewers to wear eye protection. NASA has warned Americans that looking at the eclipse without proper protection could result in immediate eye damage.

Biden’s post on X also appeared to throw some shade at former President Donald Trump given that Biden was standing in the same spot where Trump was famously photographed in 2017 looking up at the sun during a solar eclipse without protective eyewear.

Trump’s onetime presidential political rival, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, wasn’t so subtle. She reminded eclipse viewers of the 2017 incident in question in a Monday post on X.

If you were unable to get your hands on protective eyewear to safely view the eclipse, don't despair. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory posted a tutorial on how to make a pinhole camera using simple, at-home materials.

1. Cut a 1- to 2-inch square or rectangular hole in the center of a piece of card stock.

2. Tape over the hole with a piece of aluminum foil.

3. Flip over the card stock. Using a pin, paper clip and pencil, poke a small hole through the aluminum foil.

4. Place a second piece of card stock on the ground. Hold the piece of card stock with aluminum foil above it. Stand with the sun to your back and look at the projected image on the card stock.

See the full tutorial here.

Yahoo Entertainment created an eclipse playlist with 10 of the most popular songs that celebrate cosmic events, from "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler to "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

According to a press release from Spotify, there were 200% more searches for the word "eclipse" on April 2 in the U.S. than there were a month before. Those searches have only increased in the week since.

The streaming platform also created a soundtrack for the eclipse titled "sonder." It's full of ethereal music meant to conjure "the feeling of realizing that every other individual has a life as full and real as one's own." At two-and-a-half hours long, it can last the entire duration of the eclipse.

The exact timing depends on where you are along the path of totality, but in the United States, the eclipse began in Texas shortly after noon local time (with totality beginning around 1:40 p.m. CT and ending at 1:45 p.m. CT). In Maine, it will be visible starting at about a quarter after 2 p.m. ET, with totality beginning around 3:30 p.m. ET and ending at 3:34 p.m. ET.

See the chart with precise eclipse timing below.

Heather Eracleous is the founder of nonprofit organization Astronomers Without Borders (AWB), which is running a nationwide eclipse glasses recycling drive for a second time. She also owns Vessel Refillery FW, in Fort Wayne, Ind., where residents can refill their empty bottles of household goods and personal care supplies.

USA Today reports:

Read more from USA Today.

The indie rock band Vampire Weekend, which just released a new album, is performing a special live show in Austin, Texas, ahead of the eclipse.

Their set from Moody Amphitheater will be livestreamed for free here beginning at 12:10 p.m. CT/1:10 p.m. ET.

Austin will experience totality at 1:35 p.m. CT/2:35 p.m. ET.

Millions of hopeful eclipse watchers have hit the highways to grab the best viewing spots.

The influx in traffic has caused major congestion in and near states in the path of totality such as New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Take a look:

For people in southern Texas — the first state along the path of totality — the eclipse has begun. According to NASA, a partial eclipse in the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, began at 12:10 local time. Totality is expected to begin at 1:27 p.m. CT and last about four minutes, until 1:31 p.m. CT.

The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project launched around 650 balloons made of biodegradable latex in preparation for Monday's total solar eclipse, NPR reported. The balloons, which are traveling at altitudes between 70,000 and 115,000 feet, were launched by undergraduate science and engineering students at more than 75 institutions from several points on the path of totality.

The balloon project will give students the opportunity to learn how to build instruments that can withstand extreme environments.

How safe is it to watch the total solar eclipse with your pets? According to Dr. Rena Carlson, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the eclipse is unlikely to affect pets in a substantial way, NPR reported. Carlson witnessed the way animals responded to a total eclipse in 2017 when her practice in Pocatello, Idaho, closed down so staff members, along with their dogs, could watch the eclipse.

"Honestly, the animals were probably more anxious because of our excitement than anything else," she recalled.

Carlson added that pets do not require special sunglasses during the eclipse.

"Keep the glasses for yourself, because we're the ones that are going to be looking up at the sun and need that protection for our eyes," she said. "They're just going to be looking around like they normally do every day and feeding off of your emotions and your excitement."

People in Sylvan Beach, N.Y, hoping to get a glimpse of the sky show, gathered along Oneida Lake on Monday.

Darkness will start spreading over Buffalo, N.Y., about 150 miles from the resort town and a spot along the path of totality, at 2:04 p.m. ET, with totality expected at 3:20 p.m. ET.

Astronomers at Harvard University designed a device to enable people with blindness or low vision to experience the solar eclipse right along with the millions of people who will be viewing it in North America.

CNN reports:

Read more from CNN.

President Biden is traveling to the Midwest today for an economic event in Madison, Wis., followed by a campaign reception in Chicago before returning to Washington. And according to his public schedule, Biden is due to arrive in Chicago right around the time that the Windy City will be experiencing a near-total eclipse.

Chicago’s maximum eclipse coverage, or 93.9%, will occur at 3:07 p.m. ET. Air Force One is scheduled to touch down at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 2:55 p.m. ET. And as of now, Biden is due to depart O’Hare for Soldier Field at 3:05 p.m. ET.