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EAGLE PASS, Texas − In a moment of cosmic alignment that was precisely predicted yet undeniably mysterious, the edge of the moon crept across the edge of the sun as seen from Earth on Monday, now casting its shadow onto the United States.
The eclipse has begun.
The partial shadow crossed into the U.S. in Texas just after noon local time. The period of “totality,” when the moon blocks out the sun entirely, will follow, as the total eclipse of the sun traces a path from southern Texas to northern Maine.
The rare event is an astronomical experience like no other. Today’s eclipse will be unusually accessible to millions of people. It was widely anticipated not only for its remarkable period of darkness, but for its rare timing: No total solar eclipse will be visible from the contiguous United States again until 2044. While millions of Americans may see today’s eclipse, a small group in Texas was among the very first.
Edge of eclipse shadow begins in south Texas
EAGLE PASS, Texas – Alejandra Martinez, a 7th-grade science teacher from this border city in south Texas, peered up at the gray, gauzy sky, anxiously awaiting the solar eclipse’s entrance into the USA. Sitting with a telescope under a camping tent in a corner of the county airport, Martinez, 42, and two other science enthusiasts had been recruited by NASA to participate in an effort called Citizen CATE 2024, where more than 30 teams perched in the eclipse’s path will record the shadowy trek across the country.
In this spot, less than five miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, she and her team would be among the first people in the United States to witness the phenomenon. Eagle Pass sits near the very beginning of the eclipse’s track from southwest to northeast across the country. It also sits very near dead-center of it, where the period of “totality” will be the longest. That total shadow was still more than an hour away when the edge of the shadow began to darken the sky.
Martinez, dressed in a “This Totality Rocks” T-shirt and eclipse-themed skirt, watched as the penumbra crept across the airfield, about 10 minutes past noon local time.
Will the 2024 total solar eclipse hit near you? A detailed look at the path of totality.
Monday is your last shot of witnessing a total solar eclipse in North America for 20 years. Fortunately, the path of totality crosses much of the U.S.
What time is the 2024 solar eclipse?
The total eclipse will begin in Mexico at about 11:07 a.m. PDT, Monday before crossing into Texas at 1:27 p.m. CDT. It will end in Maine at 3:35 p.m. EDT. The partial eclipse will last for awhile longer. Even if you’re not in the path of totality and won’t see the full eclipse, you may still see a percentage of it.
To find out exactly when the eclipse will be happening in your area, you can search by USA TODAY’s database by ZIP code for a viewing guide.
Eclipse weather forecast: Where will there be clear skies?
Surprisingly, weatherwise, the best spot for viewing the eclipse today is expected to be northern New England, specifically northern portions of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
Skywatchers in northern Maine were celebrating Monday morning, as clear skies were reported across the state. “Viewing conditions look excellent,” the weather service in Caribou, Maine, said. In northern Vermont, an approaching deck of clouds was keeping both eclipse chasers and meteorologists on edge: “It will be a close one in regards to eclipse viewing,” the weather service in Burlington, Vermont, reported Monday morning.
A stretch from Central Arkansas to southern Indiana also could be prime viewing, but this is an area of greater uncertainty due to the potential for high clouds, the Weather Prediction Center said.
Where will it be cloudy or stormy for the eclipse?
As predicted, skies were cloudy across much of central and southern Texas on Monday morning, a precursor to some potentially severe weather that could rumble across the state later in the day, forecasters said. San Antonio and Austin reported overcast skies, while Dallas-Fort Worth had mostly cloudy skies, according to the National Weather Service.
“A high probability of poor eclipse viewing conditions continues for nearly all of South-Central Texas for midday today,” the weather service said. The Weather Prediction said clouds could also hinder viewing from Texas into southern Arkansas, and across Ohio, northwest Pennsylvania, and New York.
Indianapolis and Cleveland were anxiously hanging on every forecast update. In Indianapolis, the forecast looked good: Only some scattered high clouds were expected during the eclipse. Weather service meteorologist Joseph Nield said, “We’re cautiously optimistic that things are looking pretty good for us.”
In Cleveland, unwelcome light rain was reported Monday morning, but improving weather and partly sunny skies were predicted for eclipse time.
Where is the solar eclipse right now? Texas is first up
EAGLE PASS, Texas − Maverick County International Airport in Eagle Pass, Texas, usually sees maybe three private planes a day. By 10 a.m. CT on Monday, more than 10 planes crowded the tarmac, including Cessnas, Pipers and at least one corporate jet − all there to catch an early glimpse of the total solar eclipse. Eagle Pass will be one of the first American cities to witness the phenomenon. Some watchers, like Brandon Beck, 43, flew in Sunday night from San Diego and spent the night in a sleeping bag on the tarmac next to his friend’s Mooney single-prop piston four-seater.“We’re so lucky to be on a planet where the sun is the perfect size and perfect distance to create that effect,” he said. “It’s obligatory. We have to see it.”
− Rick Jervis
Family travels from Baltimore to Rochester, N.Y., to view the eclipse
When Maze Pelham of Baltimore was a fifth-grader, he watched news of the 2017 solar eclipse and vowed to witness the next notable solar eclipse. That eclipse, and that day, has come. And this is why he and his parents, Janice and Sonney Pelham, left Maryland around 1 a.m. on Monday and drove nearly seven hours to Rochester, New York.
“I said to myself I would go to the next one,” Maze Pelham said while seated with his parents on lawn chairs at downtown Rochester’s Parcel 5 park, where he and hundreds of others are awaiting a view of the full eclipse. “It’s a promise I made to myself.”
– Democrat and Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network
Texas Eclipse Festival cut short by weather
The Texas Eclipse Festival was canceled Monday in Burnet County, 50 miles northwest of Austin, because of weather concerns. The festival, which included bands and other events, began Sunday and was supposed to wrap up Tuesday.
“We regret to inform you of the severe weather forecast, including risks of high winds, tornadic activity, large hail, and thunderstorms for later today, including during the eclipse, Tuesday, and Wednesday,” festival organizers said on their website. “Your safety is our top priority.”
Festivalgoers were urged to leave early for safety and to beat traffic. Guests, however, were allowed to stay “provided they pack and are prepared to depart after totality.”
In Brooklyn: Eclipses glass, check. Lawnchair, check.
Ralph Emerson held a pair of paper sunglasses in his hands while riding the subway to Brooklyn’s sprawling Prospect Park on Monday. He exited the train with a folded lawn chair strapped across his shoulder, and said he felt energized and full of anticipation.
“This is special,” Emerson, 61, said. “I haven’t woken up with this much excitement since the Super Bowl.”
Walking to the park’s botanic garden, Emerson said appreciating natural phenomena makes it easier to manage the stresses that come with living in a big city. Also like a big sports game, the eclipse will draw lots of people together to experience something much larger than themselves, in community, he said.
“A lot of times it’s tragedies that bring us together, but sometimes things like this do,” he said.
− Claire Thornton
Traffic jams, collisions mar eclipse watchers’ travel
Traffic crashes and road delays were reported across the nation as Americans flocked to prime locations to gaze up at the rare solar eclipse. Local roads and highways in states including Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Vermont and New Hampshire were overwhelmed with eclipse chasers, many of whom were from out of state. The most intense bottlenecks appeared to be in the path of totality, where spectators will be able to view the full eclipse.
In Oklahoma, a crash around 7:30 a.m. local time narrowed eastbound lanes on I-40, a major transcontinental highway that runs from California to North Carolina. The crash occurred not far from several state parks that were hosting eclipse events, and it’s also within driving distance of the full eclipse path, which includes parts of southeastern Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Multiple crashes were reported on an interstate in Waco, Texas, a city in the path of totality, where several festivities and eclipse viewing events were scheduled. The crashes all occurred on I-35, which runs from southern Texas to Minnesota.
“Expect major traffic delays in this area,” the Texas Department of Transportation said in a statement.
− Christopher Cann
First the Cherry Blossoms, then the eclipse
WASHINGTON − The Cherry Blossoms brought Ali and Aurore Youssouf to the city all the way from Paris, but the pair were delighted to learn that their trip would overlap with the eclipse. The day is extra special for Aurore Youssouf, 43, who has never seen an eclipse before. On Monday morning, the couple arrived by chance at the National Mall early enough to snag a few pairs of free eclipse glasses distributed by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for the occasion.“We didn’t even know. We just ended up here and found out that they were giving away some glasses,” said Ali Youssouf, 46.
− Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Awaiting eclipse − and hail − in Texas
KERRVILLE, Texas − Forecasts called for considerable cloudiness, rain and possible hail, but retired NASA engineer Jeff Stone stayed positive as he and his wife prepared to host more than a dozen people for a watch party at their hilltop home in Texas Hill Country. Stone, an eclipse enthusiast who had met family in Missouri to watch the solar eclipse of 2017, said he recently reviewed video footage of that event and said current conditions weren’t that much different than they were back then.
“I’m outside and seeing patches of blue among scattered clouds, so we’re remaining hopeful,” he said.
About 150 miles to the northeast in Gatesville, lead pastor Eric Moffett of Coryell Community Church said a similar forecast did little to deter an expected gathering of about 800 visitors for the church’s family-oriented “Eclipse at the Crosses” event. Many, if not most, were from out of town or even out of country − Canada, Wales, France, Italy. Many locals were staying home to avoid the crowd, he said.
“It’s partly cloudy, but the sun is shining on me right now,” he said. “We are praying that it stays that way.”
− Marc Ramirez
National Mall hosting Solar Eclipse Festival
WASHINGTON − A four-hour Solar Eclipse Festival organized by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum was kicking off at the National Mall beginning at noon. The festival will feature activity stations where attendees can observe the sun through a satellite’s UV cameras to see its solar storms and create their own portable eclipse models and pinhole projection cameras. All eyes will turn to the skies at 3:20 p.m. local time, when the moon will block out 87% of the sun visible from the area.
− Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Welcoming the eclipse in Mexico
MAZATLÁN, Mexico − Elizabeth Rigdon and her son Kristopher Kirk were celebrating some memorable firsts on Monday in this beach resort town. It was their first time traveling outside the U.S., they said, and their first time viewing a total solar eclipse. Monday’s eclipse first enters its North American path of totality in Mexico. Rigdon and Kirk flew in from Orange County, California, and were headed to a NASA viewing party, they said. Rigdon said she was so excited she could hardly sleep.
“I can’t stop smiling, I’m so glad we did this,” she said. “Now we think we want to start chasing eclipses.”
− Omar Ornelas and Lauren Villagran
Hundreds of thousands expected to watch in southern Illinois
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University-Carbondale officials expect 200,000 to 300,000 people to flood southern Illinois today for viewing in the path of totality, and a projected 50,000 in Carbondale – roughly double the town’s population. Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at Adler Planetarium, will co-host an eclipse show in Saluki Stadium.
“Thousands of people are here today to see this eclipse, feel the temperature drop and feel the overall excitement and hear the reactions of everyone around them,” she said. “This is a multi-sensory experience involving the sun, the moon, and you. It involves one single action: Looking up.”
−Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star
Clear skies, high hopes in Vermont
ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. − Out of state plates vastly outnumbered Vermonters near the state border with New Hampshire Monday morning. Connecticut was well-represented, followed by Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and New Jersey. Interstate 91 was clear sailing, but I-93, which comes up from the Boston area was already quite congested before 10 a.m. Skies were uncharacteristically crystal clear for this time of year and though it’s called “mud season,” none was evident and only a few traces of recent snow fall.
In St. Johnsbury, population 7,300, more than 100 people were already lined up at the doors of the 135-year-old Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium waiting for the first astronomy program of the morning. Dozens more set up lawn chairs, blankets and cameras in the churchyard across the street.
− Karen Weintraub
What is the difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse can last for a few hours, while a solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes. Solar eclipses also rarely occur, while lunar eclipses are comparatively more frequent. While at least two partial lunar eclipses happen every year, total lunar eclipses are still rare, NASA says. Another major difference: No special glasses or gizmos are needed to view the a lunar eclipse, and people can directly stare at the moon.
− Saman Shafiq
Solar eclipse, lunar eclipse:What is the difference?
Can you drive during the solar eclipse?
It is safe to drive during an eclipse as long as you don’t look up at the sky. AAA is telling drivers to be focused on the road if they are operating a car during the total solar eclipse. But the automobile insurance company is advising Americans who want to safely view the total eclipse to “find a safe place to park (not on the side of a road or highway) away from other traffic and then wear your eclipse glasses,” said Aixa Diaz, a spokeswoman from AAA.
“Pack your patience, whether traveling a great distance or locally,” Diaz said. “People will be out and about to catch a glimpse of the eclipse.”
A similar scenario played out in 2017 during the nation’s last total solar eclipse: Congestion in some areas lasted for up to 13 hours after totality, according to Transportation Research News, a National Research Council publication. An analysis of traffic patterns from that year suggests the worst of the traffic – on interstates and rural back roads alike – will kick off after the eclipse ends and everyone tries to leave all at once.
− Kayla Jimenez
When will the next solar eclipse happen?
Unfortunately, the 2044 total solar eclipse won’t have the broad reach across the U.S. as the 2024 eclipse. The path of totality during the 2044 eclipse will only touch three states, according to the Planetary Society, a nonprofit involved in research, public outreach and political space advocacy. The eclipse will begin in Greenland, sweep through Canada and end around sunset in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
But another eclipse scheduledfor Saturday, Aug. 12, 2045, will trace a path of totality over California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
− Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Gabe Hauari and Eric Lagatta
Eclipse and pets: It’s not the sky that’s the problem
“Rather than the effects of the eclipse, I would be more worried about the excitement and all of the people,” Carlson said.
− Elizabeth Weise
A guide to the solar eclipse for kids
Trump’s eclipse experience lit up internet in 2017
But at one point during the viewing, the former president was captured in photos and videos without proper eye protection, seemingly gazing directly at the sun. Looking at an eclipse before or after the brief phase of totality without proper eyewear can lead to eye damage.
− Natalie Neysa Alund
When is the next total solar eclipse?What to know about the next eclipse’s path, timing
How to make a solar eclipse viewer
People who didn’t manage to get their hands on glasses are not completely down and out. There are other safe ways to view the eclipse, say experts, and a lot of them only require a little bit of craftiness and items you can find lying around the house.
Steps to make the cereal box eclipse viewer (And here is a video aid):
- Get an empty, clean cereal box.
- Cut a white piece of cardboard that will fit snuggly in the bottom of the box, or secure it permanently by gluing it in place.
- Cut the top of the cereal box, removing both ends and leaving the center intact.
- Put a piece of tape across the center of the top to securely hold it closed.
- Tape a piece of heavy-duty foil or double a single layer for additional strength, covering one of the openings at the top of the cereal box. The other opening will remain open for viewing.
- Using a small nail (approximately 3mm in diameter) push a hole in the foil.
- Cover the entire box with construction paper, leaving the single-viewing opening and the foil uncovered.
The finished box should be held with the pin-hole side facing the sun. It may take a little practice pointing the box. With your back facing the sun, look through the viewing opening. A small image of the sun, about ½ cm in diameter, can be seen projected on the white paper inside the box.
− Mary Walrath-Holdrid
What is the path of the solar eclipse called?
Those in the direct line of the eclipse will be treated to an incredible sight as the moon completely blots out the sun’s disk, ushering in uncharacteristic darkness and revealing the sun’s elusive outermost layer called the corona. That moment is called “totality” and this year the path of totality crosses through 13 U.S. states.
The last total solar eclipse to cut through North America was in August 2017.
How to look at eclipse without glasses
A total solar eclipse offers skygazers the rare opportunity to witness the eclipse with the naked eye. However, solar eclipse glasses are still needed until totality is reached.
Certified solar eclipse glasses are crucial for spectators to avoid the sun’s retina-damaging rays. But when the moon moves completely in front of the sun and blocks its light, you’ll know it’s safe to remove the glasses for a short period of time.
How fast does an eclipse shadow travel?
According to a post from the National Weather Service in Indianapolis on X, an eclipse shadow travels at speeds from 1,100 to 5,000 mph. Near the equator, it travels at around 1,100 mph and increases in speed as it approaches the poles.
The eclipse party is over? Time to recycle those glasses!
AWB launched its first run of the program after the last solar eclipse in 2017 when volunteer centers across the country collected millions of the glass. After vetting them for reuse, more than half a million glasses were distributed to Africa, Asia and South America.
People can visit AWB’s website to find their nearest participating collection center and learn more about recycling the glasses, said Andrew Fazekas, the organization’s communication manager.
“We figure there’s probably going to be tens of millions of glasses out there at the very least,” he said. “And most of them are probably very gently used.”
− Cybele Mayes-Osterman
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