Millions of people were gathering across 15 states, and in Mexico and Canada, on Monday in anticipation of this afternoon’s total solar eclipse that is expected to deliver a dazzling celestial show.
Undeterred by gloomy forecasts of low cloud cover and rain spoiling their view, hordes assembled in the US from Texas to Maine, clutching safety glasses and cameras with solar filters, in readiness for the rare spectacle.
More than 31 million people live in the “path of totality” – the track of the moon’s shadow blocking the sun – that the eclipse will follow in a north-east direction for about an hour after crossing into Texas at 1.30pm CT.
And officials say they expect another 4 to 5 million to journey in, bringing an estimated $1.5bn tourism boost from what will be the country’s biggest travel day of the year.
It will be another 21 years until the US sees the next coast-to-coast total eclipse, adding to the widespread keenness to witness the moments of darkness and stillness during today’s event. But for many, the experience is proving costly, with surging air fares and exorbitant hotel rates. Others found long-held bookings canceled and resold to new customers at up to three times the original prices.
Travelers were up early on Monday to stake a good spot for watching the eclipse beneath the 115-mile wide path of totality. In Maine, where clear skies are expected to offer some of the best views, authorities reported heavy traffic long before daylight.
“We really didn’t even dare to hope that we would have weather like this, and the sky is blue and the crowds are actually beginning to form and it’s only quarter to six in the morning. This is the biggest thing we’ve ever seen,” Jane Torres, executive director of the Houlton chamber of commerce, told CNN’s This Morning.
Sarah Laneau, of Westfield, Vermont, woke at 4am to take her 16-year-old daughter on a ski tram to the top of a mountain at the nearby Jay Peak resort to watch the eclipse at an elevation of 3,968ft. “This will be a first for me and an experience of a lifetime,” Laneau, 57, said.
Forecasters had gloomier news for many other parts of the country, although predicted conditions have been generally been trending better in recent days. Clouds are still expected across much of the eclipse route, with severe weather including thunderstorms and hail for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana later in the day.
“Northern New England remains to be the region where cloud cover will likely be minimized along the path of totality this afternoon,” the National Weather Service said in a Monday morning bulletin.
“Other locations will have a fair chance of cloud covers at various levels, although locations across Arkansas to the Midwest could see breaks in the clouds or high thin clouds during the time of totality.”
Nasa will livestream the eclipse for those who cannot see the show, or live outside the path of totality. Almost everywhere in North America will experience a partial eclipse of varying percentages depending on the proximity to its center track, and the agency offers its eclipse explorer website for people to check what they will see from their location.
Such is the interest in the eclipse that numerous states and municipalities have declared states of emergency in expectation of massive crowds.
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Many cities in the path are hosting public viewing events and giving away eclipse safety glasses. At several zoos, researchers are joining citizen observers to watch how animals behave. During previous eclipses, giraffes ran around frantically, tortoises started rutting and gibbons sang and barked.
Science experiments will also be conducted. Nasa will fire rockets into the moon’s shadow to study how Earth’s upper atmosphere is affected by the momentary dimming of sunlight, and volunteers will capture images of the solar corona during the total eclipse, or help analyze them following it to unravel its effects and mysteries.
The most recent total solar eclipse in the US was in 2017, but an interval of only seven years is unusual. This one has a longer track, and has a wider shadow of totality than seven years ago because the moon is closer to Earth.
The time of totality in any given location is also longer. In 2017, the longest duration anywhere was two minutes and 42 seconds. Today it will be four minutes and 28 seconds in Torreón, Mexico, while almost every place along the path can expect between three and a half to four minutes of totality.
“The 2017 eclipse cut across the country in kind of the opposite direction, and it created a lot of interest, millions flocked to it and whetted the appetite of a lot of people,” said John Gianforte, professor of space science at the University of New Hampshire, and director of its observatory.
“There have been a lot of improvements in imaging technology, imaging sensors, that make imaging a total solar eclipse much more accessible, and things like that just make people even more interested in studying things in space.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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