People from all over the world gather in Dallas for the total solar eclipse

dallas – A total solar eclipse will cross the country for the first time in seven years on Monday afternoon.

People from all over the world travel to the best places to watch cosmic events.

Local 10’s Andrew Perez reports from Dallas, Texas on Monday, capturing all the excitement of the solar eclipse.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever see a solar eclipse in my life, so now is the time,” Ivan Fernandez told Perez.

Fernandez traveled to Dallas from Hollywood, Florida.

animation: Effect of solar eclipse on temperature

He said he had to see this natural phenomenon with his own eyes. Clouds passed over the area Monday morning, threatening his visibility, but he’s still in good spirits.

“Even if it’s cloudy, it gets dark when the moon crosses in front of the sun. It’s still going to get dark,” he said.

Gregory Diaz, who also came from Hollywood, said, “I’m really looking forward to it because it’s like a four-minute total.” “At first I was thinking of going to Little Rock, but I’m glad I chose this place because there are so many other things to do.”

map: A total path across the United States

The city is crowded with visitors from Japan and abroad to watch the show. That spotlight will soon cast a shadow on the sky, quite literally.

Millions of dollars are flowing into Dallas, and locals are feeling the excitement that comes with the big crowds.

“It’s getting weirder day by day,” said one resident. “And the highways are crazy and gas prices have gone up by about a dollar.”

Over the past few days, we’ve featured people from all over the world who traveled to the Lone Star State for this event.

We met families who had flown in from London, and some of the eclipse regulars had made their plans years in advance.

“When you see a black hole in the sky with the corona glowing around it, you can’t even see directly what it looks like,” said Kevin Sampron, visiting from Denver.

Although the forecast is not good, many people are making the best of the situation. There is camaraderie, there is connection, and everything seems to be going well.

In Dallas, the Moon will begin covering the Sun at 1:23 PM ET and will begin completely covering the Sun for 4 minutes starting at 2:40 PM.