Millions looked skyward today, April 8, as the moon eclipsed the sun from Mexico’s Pacific Coast to Canada’s eastern shore. Those who traveled to the around 115-mile-wide path of totality experienced between three and five minutes of darkness, but viewers outside the stretch had plenty to look at, too. Below, we’ve compiled some of the most breathtaking press photographs of what’s been dubbed the Great American Eclipse.

The total eclipse made landfall in the resort town of Matazlán, Mexico. As it continued its 1,500-mile-per-hour journey northward, the skies darkened in Mexico City, where one onlooker donned a unique take on the eclipse glasses that proved impossible to find in the days leading up to the celestial event.

The path of totality encompassed a wide swath of Texas, as well. One photo captured the final moments before the moon overtook the sun above Fort Worth, when viewers could observe the “diamond ring effect.”

For those lamenting not traveling to the path of totality, the next large North American eclipse will take place in 2044, when the moon will overtake the sun in Canada, Montana, and North and South Dakota.

The diamond ring effect, which occurs when the moon has almost completely blocked the sun, in the sky above Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Elaine Velie is a writer from New Hampshire living in Brooklyn. She studied Art History and Russian at Middlebury College and is interested in art's role in history, culture, and politics.

Join the Conversation

2 Comments

Leave a comment