Today is a special day in America as the long anticipated total solar eclipse is expected to occur hours from now across the North America. The total solar eclipse dubbed as the Great North America Eclipse is the second eclipse following the first one that happened in 2017 and will create celestial spectacle in the skies over the United States as well as parts of Mexico and Canada.
It is estimated that 32 million people that live within the path of totality across the US, or locations where the moon will completely block the face of the sun will view the total solar eclipse for a few moments.
Furthermore, the eclipse will first appear over the South Pacific Ocean and begin its journey across North America. Mexico’s Pacific coast is the first point of totality on the path, expected at 11:07 a.m. PT (2:07 p.m. ET), and the eclipse is expected to end on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland at 5:16 p.m. local time (3:46 p.m. ET).
In the US, a total solar eclipse will be visible for those in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, although weather threatens to spoil the fun for some.
A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon blocks the face of the Sun and the as the Moon blocks the Sun’s light, it casts a shadow on part of the Earth. The Moon’s shadow creates a trail as Earth rotates. This trail is called the path of totality. Those in the path of totality experience total darkness during the eclipse as the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s light for a few minutes. It gets so dark that it looks like night time during a full Moon!