Moon blocks out sun over Mexico as crowds cheer eclipse

Millions gather to watch rare spectacle

A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America on Monday as a total solar eclipse began its race across the continent, thrilling those lucky enough to see the spectacle through clear skies.

Eclipse mania gripped all of Mexico, the US and Canada, as the moon swept in front of the sun, blotting out daylight.

The moon started to cover up the sun as a partial eclipse began over the South Pacific during the afternoon.

The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Millions along a narrow corridor in North America from Mexico’s Pacific coast to eastern Canada were hoping for clouds to clear as they eagerly wait for totality to reach their location.

Totality will last up to four minutes and 28 seconds in certain spots.

Cheers broke out along the beach in the resort city of Mazatlan in Mexico as the moon began to pass over the sun.

Hundreds in a beachside park had passed the time readying their equipment and listening to a youth orchestra play Star Wars songs while a large screen projected images of Princess Leia behind them.

The moon begins to eclipse the sun in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Luz Elena Aguillon de la O sat in the grass with a group of 14 family and friends who had gathered from Mexico City, Guanajuato and Mazatlan to take in the spectacle.

“Happy to be here with family, friends sharing a singular, unrepeatable event that the universe and nature give us,” she said.

The weather is not looking good for a large part of the eclipse’s path. Clouds could get in the way for a stretch of the route, with the heaviest clouds expected in parts of Texas.

There are patches that may be clear. And meteorologists point out that the eclipse might still be visible if the clouds are high and thin.

People look toward the sky at the 'Edge at Hudson Yards' observation deck ahead of a total solar eclipse across North America, in New York City. Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

The one area where clear skies are expected is northern New England through to Canada.

That area has “a pretty solid lock to be able to see the eclipse pretty crystal clear”, said National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Snell.

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Fifteen US states get a chance to see the full eclipse, although just a small part of Tennessee and Michigan are included. The length of totality varies by location.

The moon’s shadow that falls on Earth follows along a path that is 115 miles wide.

Practically everyone in North America will have a chance at catching at least a partial eclipse. The farther from the path of totality, the smaller the moon’s bite will be out of the sun.

President Joe Biden posted a brief video on X, formerly Twitter, to encourage Americans to wear eye protection when viewing the eclipse – in a subtle dig at his predecessor and 2024 rival, former president Donald Trump.

“Folks, enjoy the eclipse, but play it safe, don’t be silly,” Mr Biden said in a video showing him donning eclipse glasses and looking skyward from the balcony outside the Blue Room of the White House.

That is the spot where Mr Trump glanced up toward the sun without eye protection in 2017.

Mr Biden is travelling to Wisconsin, which, like Washington, will experience a partial eclipse on Monday.

It was the continent’s biggest eclipse audience ever, with a couple hundred million people living in or near the shadow’s path, plus scores of out-of-towners flocking in.

Clouds blanketed most of Texas as total solar eclipse began its diagonal dash across land, starting along Mexico’s mostly clear Pacific coast and aiming for Texas and 14 other US States, before exiting into the North Atlantic near Newfoundland.

The show got under way in the Pacific before noon EDT. As the darkness of totality reached the Mexican resort city of Mazatlan, the faces of spectators were illuminated only by the screens of their mobile phones.

In Texas, the south-central region was locked in clouds, but it was a little bit better to the northeast, said National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Snell.

“Dallas is pretty much a 50-50 shot,” he said

At Niagara Falls State Park, tourists streamed in under cloudy skies with wagons, strollers, coolers and lawn chairs. Park officials expected a large crowd at the popular site overlooking the falls.

During Monday’s full eclipse, the moon slipped right in front of the sun, entirely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the sun’s outer atmosphere or corona visible, would be long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent, and for planets, stars and maybe even a comet to pop out.

It will be another 21 years before the US sees another total solar eclipse on this scale.

It will take just one hour, 40 minutes for the moon’s shadow to race more than 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) across the continent.

The path of totality — approximately 115 miles (185km) wide — encompasses several major cities this time, including Dallas; Indianapolis; Cleveland; Buffalo, New York; and Montreal. An estimated 44 million people live within the track, with a couple hundred million more within 200 miles (320km).

“This may be the most viewed astronomical event in history,” said National Air and Space Museum curator Teasel Muir-Harmony, standing outside the museum in Washington, awaiting a partial eclipse.

Experts from Nasa and scores of universities are posted along the route, poised to launch research rockets and weather balloons, and conduct experiments. The International Space Station’s seven astronauts also will be on the lookout, 270 miles (435km) up.