U.S. about to watch Lranddaddy oi cosmic shows

Millions of Americans have converged on a narrow corridor stretching from Oregon to South Carolina to watch the moon blot out the midday sun Monday for a wondrous couple of minutes in the first total solar eclipse to sweep coast to coast in 99 years.

Veteran eclipse watchers warned the uninitiated to get ready to be blown away.

With 200 million people within a day’s drive of the path of totality, towns and parks braced for monumental crowds. It’s expected to be the most observed, most studied and most photographed eclipse ever. Not to mention the most festive, what with all the parties.

Astronomers consider a full solar eclipse the grandest of cosmic spectacles.

The Earth, moon and sun line up perfectly every one to three years, briefly turning day into night for a sliver of the planet.

But these sights normally are in no man’s land. This will be the first eclipse of the social media era to pass through such a heavily populated area.

In fact, the U.S. mainland hasn’t seen a total solar eclipse since 1979, and even then, only five states in the Northwest experienced total darkness before the eclipse veered in Canada.

All of North America will get at least a partial eclipse. Central America and the top of South America will also see the moon cover part of the sun.

Scientists everywhere agree: Put the phones and cameras down and enjoy the greatest natural show on Earth with your own (protected) eyes.

The only time it’s safe to look directly without protective eyewear is during totality, when the sun is 100 percent covered. Otherwise, keep the solar specs on or use pinhole projectors that can cast an image of the eclipse.

The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. will be in 2024. The next coastto-coast one will not be until 2045.