‘Spectacular’ total eclipse leaves North Americans spellbound

NIAGARA FALLS, United States (AFP) — Eclipse mania gripped North America on Monday as a breathtaking celestial spectacle captivated tens of millions of people, offering a rare blend of scientific interest, commercial opportunity and daytime partying.

The Moon’s shadow plunged the Pacific coast of Mexico into total darkness at 11:07 a.m. local time, then swept across the US at supersonic speed, returning to the ocean over Canada’s Atlantic coast just under an hour-and-a-half after landfall.

Festivals, viewing parties and even mass weddings took place along the eclipse’s “path of totality,” where the Sun’s corona glowed from behind the Moon in a display that left crowds awestruck.

“It was spectacular. I had never witnessed anything like it,” said Paulina Nava, a 36-year-old resident of the beachside Mexican city of Mazatlan.

People “screamed, they applauded, some were taking photos, others were kissing,” she added.

Thousands of miles away in downtown Montreal, Canada, office workers spilled out of skyscrapers to snap pictures with their eclipse glasses held to their phones.

The path of totality was 185 kilometers wide and home to nearly 32 million Americans, with an additional 150 million living less than 200 miles from the strip, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which ran a live webcast throughout.

Mass wedding

Hotels and short-term rentals in prime viewing locations were booked solid for months in advance across states including Texas, Arkansas, Ohio and Maine.

In Ingram, Texas, at the Stonehenge II park — a replica of the prehistoric monument in England — eclipse watchers gathered from around the world, undeterred by overcast conditions.

Jeni Lyn Hunter, 57, and her husband Charles Guillory, 60, had traveled from Floresville, Texas. The couple identified as “pagans” and wore Merlin hats.

“It means a lot to me because I have stage four cancer, but I’m not giving up, this is a rebirth of the Sun of life,” Hunter told Agence France-Presse.

And in Russellville, Arkansas, more than 300 couples reportedly exchanged vows at “A Total Eclipse of the Heart” mass wedding ceremony.

Delta airlines had planned two special flights along the path, while many schools in the zone shut for the day.

Health professionals likewise urged people to use certified eclipse glasses to prevent permanent retinal injury.

Only those within the totality path could safely remove eye protection for a few precious moments that won’t come around again until the next solar eclipse for much of North America, in 2044.