Darkness at noon..
Millions view rare total eclipse over America
NOON fell dark across a thin stretch of North America yesterday amid a rare total eclipse of the sun.
Millions of people from Mexico to Canada looked up at the sky to glimpse the phenomenon, while protecting their eyes from the sun’s intense light.
The eclipse began in the Pacific then followed a densely populated path over North America before brushing the UK.
States such as Texas had more than four minutes of midday darkness and almost all of North America was given at least a partial eclipse.
America’s best views were in the states of Vermont and Maine.
Cheers broke out along the beach in Mexican city Mazatlan – one of the first areas in line for a total eclipse – as the moon began to pass over the sun.
Hundreds in a beachside park set up their equipment while listening to an orchestra play music from Star Wars.
Luz Elena Aguillon de la O sat on the grass to take in the spectacle. She said: “I’m happy to be here with family and friends sharing a singular, unrepeatable event that the universe and nature give us.”
In the US, a mass wedding was held in Russellville, Arkansas, with partners exchanging vows before the moon blocked out the sun to resemble what organisers called “a huge wedding ring in the sky”. At Niagara Falls, thousands of people looked up as a Pink Floyd tribute band played Dark Side of the Moon.
It will be 21 years before the US sees an eclipse like this again. The last was in 2017 when then-President Donald Trump famously stared at the sun without protection. President Joe Biden posted yesterday: “An eclipse is worth marvelling at. But don’t be silly, folks – play it safe and wear protective eyewear.”