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.
Didier Timothy-Mondesir watches the solar eclipse from Prince Edward County, Ontario, Monday, April 8, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
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.
Totality’s first stop on land cast Mazatlán’s sparkling beaches into darkness before continuing northeast toward Eagle Pass, Texas, one its first stops in the U.S.
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.
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)
Clouds part as a partial eclipse of the sun and moon cross atop the New Sweden Evangelical Lutheran Church steeple Monday, April 8, 2024, in Manor, Texas. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
People watch a total solar eclipse as the sky goes dark in Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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)
The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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 from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Clouds part as a partial eclipse of the sun and moon is seen atop the cross on the steeple of the New Sweden Evangelical Lutheran Church Monday, April 8, 2024, in Manor, Texas. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Clouds cover the sky prior to a total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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