Solar Eclips gripped cities of North America, Canada and Maxico on Monday as a breathtaking celestial spectacle observed by tens of millions of people offered a rare convergence of commercial and scientific opportunities -- and an excuse to party.The Moon's shadow plunged the Pacific coast of Mexico into total darkness at 11:07 am local time (1807 GMT) and swept across the United States at supersonic speed, before it returns to the ocean over Canada's Atlantic coast just under an hour-and-a-half after landfall. The solar eclipse made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast at 11:37 pm IST in Mazatlan. It was North America's first total eclipse since 2017.
#WATCH | Houlton, Maine: Total Solar eclipse seen in Houlton city of US' Maine state. #TotalSolarEclipse2024
— ANI (@ANI) April 8, 2024
(Source: NASA) pic.twitter.com/Gd4eZRC9XH
The period of totality lasted up to four minutes depending on the observer's location. A partial eclipse, in which the moon obscures only a portion of the sun, unfolded across most of the continental US, outside the path of totality.This total solar eclipse held significant interest due to its path crossing more densely populated areas compared to previous occurrences, allowing an estimated 31.6 million people to witness the event without leaving their cities.Festivals, viewing parties, and even mass weddings were planned along the eclipse's "path of totality," where the Moon could be seen completely obscuring the Sun for up to a few minutes -- weather permitting. Cloud cover played spoilsport over parts of Texas.
This year's path of totality is 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide and home to nearly 32 million Americans, with an additional 150 million living less than 200 miles from the strip.The next total solar eclipse that can be seen from a large part of North America won't come around until 2044.Torreon in Mexico emerged as the eclipse enthusiast's prime location, offering the longest duration of totality.
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