Solar eclipse was witnessed by Tens of millions of people across Mexico, the US, and Canada. They found themselves craning their necks and tilting their heads to the sky in wonder on Monday as they witnessed the remarkable phenomenon: the Moon passing between the Earth and the Sun, briefly extinguishing its light in a total solar eclipse.
Spanning the continent, the path of totality stretched 155 miles wide and over 4,000 miles long. It began over the warm sands of a Mexican beach town, cast darkness over the crashing waters of Niagara Falls, and concluded its journey on the shores of Canada‘s Newfoundland. This solar eclipse left a profound sense of awe in its wake, serving as a poignant reminder of our planet’s place in the vastness of the universe.
Mazatlán, Mexico
The eclipse made its initial appearance around Mazatlán, Mexico, on the country’s western shores at 11:07 local time (18:07 GMT). Initially, observers saw the Moon’s outer edge seemingly brushing against the Sun, gradually devouring more of its light until cheers erupted as darkness finally enveloped everything, save for the ethereal “corona” effect of the Sun around the Moon’s silhouette.
Over a thousand miles away in Dallas, Texas, 11-year-old Ady Walton-King was brimming with excitement, having learned all about the eclipse in her fifth-grade class at Dallas Academy. Furthermore, she had eagerly prepared for weeks, and on Monday morning, she laced up her shoes. Additionally, she tucked four pairs of eclipse glasses into her pink purse: one for herself, one for each parent, and one for her younger sister, Abigail.
Sitting down beside her father, Ryan, on a school field in central Dallas just before the eclipse began, Ady lifted her gaze upward. The experience unfolded slowly, she recounted, as the Texas afternoon gradually darkened. “It looked like the Moon was biting the Sun, but without the teeth marks,” she described.
Clouds
Clouds drifted in and out, intermittently obscuring the view until the Sun had vanished completely, leaving only faint flares of light dancing around the Moon. “I didn’t expect it to be like that,” Ady said. “The darkness was profound. I thought it would be like dusk, but it was almost pitch black.”
Suddenly, the temperature dropped, and as she had learned in her studies, the sounds of animals fell silent. “As it began to brighten again, the crickets emerged, and the birds resumed singing. It was quite surreal,” she remarked. “Moreover, I feel a bit sad that it’s over.”
Continuing on its path, the eclipse journeyed northeastward through the United States, marking a personal milestone for some. Across the path of totality, hundreds of Americans gathered at various mass wedding events to exchange vows during this celestial spectacle.
