astronomy
Millions of people see total solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, completely blocking the sun. Millions of people in Mexico, the USA and Canada experienced such a celestial spectacle today. photo
© Eduardo Resendiz/dpa
A rare “cosmic masterpiece” could be admired on the North American continent: a total solar eclipse. In many places, however, clouds spoil the spectacle.
Millions of people in Mexico, the USA and Canada today have a total experienced a solar eclipse. Such a celestial spectacle occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth and completely obscures the sun.
Starting over the Pacific, the umbra stretched over northern Mexico, crossed the USA from Texas northeast to Maine, touched southeastern Canada and ended over the North Atlantic.
Applause and tears
Already in Mexico, thousands of tourists and residents, for example in the coastal city of Mazatlán on the Pacific, observed how the solar eclipse at midday made it largely dark for a few minutes. When the sky cleared again, there was applause and tears, as the Milenio television station reported on site. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also flew to Mazatlán to witness the event. He also held his usual press conference from there.
In the USA, millions of people had been preparing for the spectacle in the sky for months and had planned parties to watch it together. The zone was home to major cities such as Dallas, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Montreal, and a total of more than 30 million people live there. Numerous schools remained closed, hotels and holiday apartments were fully booked long in advance, and there was increased traffic.
Next solar eclipse not until 2044
In many places clouds spoiled the spectacle a little, but millions of people still watched the event equipped with special glasses and with lots of cheers and applause. Scientists had also been preparing for the event for months. The US space agency Nasa examined the solar eclipse using aircraft and balloons, among other things.
The last total solar eclipse was visible from the USA in 2017, from Mexico in 1991 and from Canada in 1979. The next one for the USA and Canada is not announced for 2044, for Mexico in 2052.
The astronomical spectacle could not be observed from Europe. A partial solar eclipse was only announced for the western edge of the continent – for example in parts of Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Great Britain as well as in Iceland. The last time a total solar eclipse was observed in Germany was in August 1999; the next one will take place in September 2081.