PHOTOS: Total solar eclipse sweeps across North America
DALLAS (AP) — Millions across North America witnessed the moon block out the sun during a total solar eclipse Monday.
The eclipse’s path of totality stretched from Mazatlán, Mexico to Newfoundland, an area that crosses 15 U.S. states and is home to 44 million people. Revelers were engulfed in darkness at state parks, on city rooftops and in small towns.
Most of those in North America, but not in the direct path, still witnessed a partial eclipse, with the moon transforming the sun into a fiery crescent.
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Totality’s first stop on land cast Mazatlán’s sparkling beaches into darkness before continuing northeast toward Eagle Pass, Texas, one of its first stops in the U.S.
The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) The Statue of Freedom on top of the U.S. Capitol stands as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Capitol Hill, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The solar eclipse is seen above the Washington Monument on April 08, 2024 in Washington, DC. People have traveled to areas across North America that are in the “path of totality” in order to experience the eclipse today. The next total solar eclipse that can be seen from a large part of North America won’t happen until 2044. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The frayed edges of a flag are lit as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Sun spots are seen during the beginning phase of a total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen below a cross atop the New Sweden Evangelical Lutheran Church steeple Monday, April 8, 2024, in Manor, Texas. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Photographers capture the solar eclipse near the base of the Washington Monument on the National Mall on April 08, 2024 in Washington, DC. People have traveled to areas across North America that are in the “path of totality” in order to experience the eclipse today. The next total solar eclipse that can be seen from a large part of North America won’t happen until 2044. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The Statue of Freedom on top of the U.S. Capitol stands as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Capitol Hill, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) The moon covers most of the the sun as it approaches the total solar eclipse, as seen from the summit of Saddleback Mountain, Monday, April 8, 2024, near Rangeley, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse as seen from Luna Pier, Mich., Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) The moon nearly covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Jose Noble lays on his daughter Alayna’s lap to try and catch a glimpse of a solar eclipse as the plane passes through the path of totality during a Southwest flight 1252 from Dallas, Texas to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 08, 2024 in flight to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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. During the event, the moon will pass in between the sun and the Earth, appearing to block the sun. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) People view a solar eclipse in Times Square, Monday, April 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie) People gather to watch the total solar eclipse from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Mackenzie Trumbull, left, and Kathy Trumbull pose for a picture as they gather to watch as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from at National Mall in Washington, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Skiers and hikers watch the total eclipse of the sun from the Appalachian Trail at the summit of Saddleback Mountain, Monday, April 8, 2024, near Rangeley, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., wears eclipse glasses as he views the moon partially covering the sun during a total solar eclipse, in front of the U.S. Senate on Capitol Hill, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Pittsburgh Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds views the solar eclipse before a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) People watch as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Isabel Franco, left, and her parrot Alex watch a solar eclipse from Griffith Observatory on Monday, April 8, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Andy Bao) Kenny Roda uses special glasses to take a picture of the total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane) Robb Godshaw uses a mirrored ball to project images of the total solar eclipse onto an exterior wall of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Yurem Rodriquez watches as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Total solar eclipses happen somewhere around the world every 11 to 18 months, but they don’t often cross paths with millions of people. The U.S. last got a taste in 2017, and won’t again see a coast-to-coast spectacle until 2045.
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