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The Solar Eclipse: Live Updates The Solar Eclipse: Highlights From Its Path Across the United States
(about 2 hours later)
• A total solar eclipse made contact in Oregon just after 1:15 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, darkening skies as the moon obscured the sun and cast a long shadow across Earth.• A total solar eclipse made contact in Oregon just after 1:15 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, darkening skies as the moon obscured the sun and cast a long shadow across Earth.
• It will continue moving across the United States, ending just before 3 p.m. in South Carolina. Weather forecasts were mixed in some locations along the eclipse’s path. • It concluded its path just before 3 p.m. in South Carolina, where clouds obscured the moment of totality.
• Do not look at the eclipse without special eyeglasses that you have confirmed are safe. You could permanently damage your eyes. Our guide on eclipse safety has instructions if you didn’t manage to get glasses, and another option if you’re stuck indoors. NASA is also livestreaming the eclipse. • In Washington, where the sun was about 80 percent obscured, President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, took in the partial eclipse from the Truman Balcony overlooking the White House’s South Lawn.
• We’re collecting and sharing your photos from the eclipse here. • We’ve collected and shared your photos from the eclipse here.
• Scientists are hoping their studies of this eclipse will lead to important discoveries about the sun’s mysterious corona, which burns more than a million degrees hotter than the sun’s surface.• Scientists are hoping their studies of this eclipse will lead to important discoveries about the sun’s mysterious corona, which burns more than a million degrees hotter than the sun’s surface.
• Sign up for the weekly Science Times email newsletter and like our Science page on Facebook.• Sign up for the weekly Science Times email newsletter and like our Science page on Facebook.
Near Depoe Bay along the Pacific coast, a flock of sea gulls hidden in fog called out loudly, then went suddenly quiet. A chorus of gasps rang out among the scattered crowd of about a hundred still gathered at Government Point as the sun disappeared. And then a cheer as all dropped into total darkness. At Depoe Bay, near where the line of totality first touched the United States, a flock of sea gulls hidden in fog called out loudly then went suddenly quiet. A chorus of gasps rang out among the scattered crowd of about a hundred still gathered at Government Point as the sun disappeared. Then a cheer went up as all dropped into darkness.
Tina Foster, here with her family, was nearly in tears.Tina Foster, here with her family, was nearly in tears.
“That was so amazing — to witness that in real life,” she said. “That was kind of life changing, especially for the kids.” “That was so amazing — to witness that in real life,” she said. “That was kind of life-changing, especially for the kids.”
Elsewhere in the state’s zone of totality, electronic signs along the highways flashed warnings that stopping was not permitted. The rule was ignored. As the moon swallowed the sun, a rest stop along Interstate 5 overflowed with cars.Elsewhere in the state’s zone of totality, electronic signs along the highways flashed warnings that stopping was not permitted. The rule was ignored. As the moon swallowed the sun, a rest stop along Interstate 5 overflowed with cars.
In Salem, Ore., there were hugs, screams and tears, punctuated by cheers when the planet Venus became visible just before totality.In Salem, Ore., there were hugs, screams and tears, punctuated by cheers when the planet Venus became visible just before totality.
Jay Pasachoff, one of the world’s leading eclipse astronomers, was grinning and walking through the crowd hugging everybody after witnessing his 34th eclipse. Jay Pasachoff, one of the world’s leading eclipse astronomers, was grinning and walking through the crowd, hugging everybody after witnessing his 34th eclipse.
“This was absolutely fabulous,” he said. “As perfect as possible.” — Phoebe Flanigan, Thomas Fuller and Dennis Overbye“This was absolutely fabulous,” he said. “As perfect as possible.” — Phoebe Flanigan, Thomas Fuller and Dennis Overbye
The moon was continuing along its path across the United States, but some worried they would be at the wrong place during the moment of totality they had planned for. Some viewers expected disappointment as clouds filled skies on their parcel of the path of totality.
To the east in Beatrice, Neb., at the Homestead National Monument of America, the buses kept arriving, dropping off thousands. They were deposited into weather that was becoming progressively cloudier through the morning. “I just said another prayer for ‘please let us see at least some of it,’” said the local chamber of commerce’s executive director, Lora Young, as eclipse time loomed. At Homestead National Monument of America in Beatrice, Neb., the whole thing seemed in doubt.
As the sky in Southern Illinois University’s football stadium in Carbondale darkened an hour before totality, people slowly realized their chance to see the eclipse would be a nail biter. “Go away, clouds,” people chanted briefly as totality approached with the sun mostly obscured by a storm cloud. A few minutes later, when the sun became partially visible, the crowd cheered loudly.
“Yeah there is a cloud there right now, but let’s push that out of the way,” said Matt Kaplan, the announcer for the stadium’s official program. When totality started, the sky turned dark, a few sparrows fluttered past and a star became visible. But it was several seconds until the sun poked through a gap in the clouds, prompting gasps and applause.
Experienced eclipse chasers converging on the line of totality, like Bill and Hillary Griffith of San Diego, said they were ready if weather was set to ruin their view in the Illinois town To the southeast, at Rosecrans Memorial Airport near St. Joseph, Mo., many visitors had traveled a long way to be disappointed by cloudy weather.
“We have a plan A, B through Z,” said Ms. Griffith, who was hoping to see her fourth eclipse. Daniel and Miriam Taylor from Auckland, New Zealand, reached the area around 5 a.m. Eastern time, Monday after a 36-hour trip, and sought to maintain an upbeat attitude.
Mr. Griffith, her husband, became fascinated by eclipses as a Boy Scout in 1967 and was enthralled to learn that in 50 years one would grace Carbondale, which is his hometown. “It’s out of our control,” Mr. Taylor said.
Finding an alternative for bad weather started earlier in Tennessee for Henry Hsu, whose family spent about $2,000 for plane tickets and a hotel room for a trip from their home in New Jersey to Kansas City, Mo., to view the eclipse. “Yeah, we’re pretty chill about it,” Ms. Taylor chimed in. “Obviously, it’d be amazing to see it. We were driving into this thunder lightning storm, and we’re just like, ‘This is part of it. Just being here is part of the atmosphere.’”
But as he grew concerned about the weather last week, he abandoned those plans and drove 10 hours with his family to Loudon, Tenn. A few minutes later, when totality hit, the eclipse was visible for a few fleeting seconds, and people all around cheered.
When asked if it would be worth the time and money, he replied, “If it’s the most inspiring thing ever, then yeah,” said Mr. Hsu, who has never seen a total solar eclipse. But Alex Shaller, 35, said he spent $800 to get to St. Joseph from Worcester, Mass., and that the weather was a bit of a letdown.
In South Carolina, near the end of the eclipse’s path, forecasts were slightly improved as the College of Charleston welcomed its Class of 2021. “It wasn’t as good as it could have been,” he said when asked about the experience. “I feel O.K. Not horrible, just O.K.”
Asked which was more exciting, the beginning of college or the eclipse, one freshman, Carter Broderick, from Wilmington, N.C., had a quick answer: the eclipse. “Everyone’s starting college, but I came to Charleston, and the eclipse is here,” she said. “It’s a win-win.” In Charleston, S.C., the last city on the eclipse route before it headed out over the Atlantic, heavy clouds obscured totality.
A White House official said Monday that President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, will view the partial eclipse from the Truman balcony on the second floor of the residence, overlooking the South Lawn. The moon was expected to obscure just over eighty percent of the sun in Washington around 2:42 p.m. Eastern time. But the hundreds of students gathered at the College of Charleston were ready for a final party anyway, as classes start tomorrow. They hooted and hollered as the moon slowly worked its way across the sun — a sight that, with glasses, was visible through the clouds. And they screamed again after totality, when a crescent sun again made an appearance.
In New York, the eclipse was expected to be smaller, at just over 70 percent. At the American Museum of Natural History on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, hordes of people pushed their way to the second floor terrace. Then the moon’s shadow headed out past Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, across the coastal wetlands and out into the Atlantic.
Anirudh Vishneek, 13, from Dubai and visiting family in Jersey City, came to the museum with his parents. In Washington, D.C., where the sun was about 80 percent obscured by the moon, President Trump, Melania Trump and their son, Barron Trump, took in the scene from the Blue Room Balcony just after 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.
“This will be my first time seeing a solar eclipse,” Anirudh said. “I just want to see what it’s like.” The president waved to the onlookers at the White House, and gave a thumbs-up gesture when a reporter inquired about the view. He observed the eclipse at its apex wearing glasses with Mrs. Trump for about 90 seconds.
In Queens, near Corona Golf Playground, Mary Gorel, a park caretaker, was prepa with her eclipse glasses. Farther north in New York where the partially eclipsed sun played cat and mouse with clouds, a positive mood pervaded viewers at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan.
“I’m psyched. I’m ready,” she said. “It’s just cool because this is the only one in our lifetime now.” — Emily Palmer and Sean Piccoli Nicole Yong, 30, said it felt like an extension of the weekend, and noted how the eclipse seemed to be bringing people together, with “everyone sharing their glasses, making room for others to sit down, taking only what they need so there’s enough for everyone else.”
The path of totality continues across the United States. Because of planetary geometry, the total eclipse can last less than one minute in some places, and as long as two minutes and 41 seconds in others. The eclipse’s longest point of duration is near a small town called Makanda, Ill., population 600. At the New York Hall of Science in Queens, children and their parents were in the majority among the hundreds gathered to take in the celestial phenomenon.
Around 1:15 p.m. Eastern time, the total solar eclipse first reached Oregon’s coast. For the next 90 or so minutes it will continueover 13 more states: Idaho, Montana (barely), Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa (hardly), Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and finally South Carolina. Patrick Rooney, 45, a New York firefighter from Bayside, arrived at the hall with his welding mask — protective gear equipped with auto-dimming goggles strong enough to filter out damaging sunlight.
At about 2:49 p.m. Eastern time in South Carolina, some lucky souls in the Palmetto State’s marshes could be the last on American soil to experience the total eclipse. Just after 4 p.m. Eastern, the partial eclipse will end and all of America will again be under the full August sun. He occasionally handed the mask to his son, Patrick, 3, and daughter Catherine, 4, who all but disappeared from the shoulders up under the adult-sized headgear.
We can’t emphasize enough that you need special glasses before looking up at the eclipse, lest you risk permanent damage to your eyes. Your sunglasses won’t do the job. Wear your special glasses for viewing during the partial eclipse phases. “I’m not sure they know exactly what they’re looking at,” Mr. Patrick said. “But they’re enjoying themselves and that’s all that matters.” — Emily Palmer and Sean Piccoli
But even those who planned ahead need to make sure their eyewear will offer sufficient protection.
There are reports across the United States of glasses that were handed out but later recalled after vendors questioned the authenticity of their safety certification. Amazon was among the companies to recall some glasses.
Here are some tips on how to determine whether your eyewear is safe.
If you’re in the line of totality, you can remove your glasses once the sun is completely blocked and admire the enigmatic disc of the moon and the threads of corona that appear at its edges. Savor these minutes. Put your glasses back on as soon as the moon moves on and the sun begins to reappear.
Maybe you didn’t get eclipse glasses in time — they’re sold out at a lot of places — or maybe you got some that were fraudulent and you had to throw them away. You still have options for eclipse viewing. You can make a pinhole projector with two paper plates — here are some instructions, and a video demonstration of this technique. You can learn even more in our guide to safe eclipse viewing.
Total solar eclipses are marvelous opportunities to study Earth’s intimate relationship with the sun.Total solar eclipses are marvelous opportunities to study Earth’s intimate relationship with the sun.
Eclipses happen about once every 18 months. But because Earth’s surface is covered mostly by water, they tend to occur over remote locations that are difficult for scientists to reach with advanced equipment for observation. For most American scientists it is perhaps the most accessible total solar eclipse since the last one to touch the lower 48 states in 1979. And in those 38 years, their equipment and ability to study the phenomena have greatly improved.Eclipses happen about once every 18 months. But because Earth’s surface is covered mostly by water, they tend to occur over remote locations that are difficult for scientists to reach with advanced equipment for observation. For most American scientists it is perhaps the most accessible total solar eclipse since the last one to touch the lower 48 states in 1979. And in those 38 years, their equipment and ability to study the phenomena have greatly improved.
Scientists have long been puzzled by the sun’s corona, the thin plasma veil that encases the star, because it burns more than a million degrees hotter than the sun’s surface. Only during totality is the corona visible from Earth.Scientists have long been puzzled by the sun’s corona, the thin plasma veil that encases the star, because it burns more than a million degrees hotter than the sun’s surface. Only during totality is the corona visible from Earth.
That’s when astronomers and citizen scientists across the total eclipse’s 3,000-mile long path will focus their attention on the white, wispy crown. They will observe it with telescopes, some as a part of the Citizen CATE project which aims to film totality for 90 minutes across the country. A few scientists will even be collecting images of the corona from airplanes soaring about 45,000 feet in the air.That’s when astronomers and citizen scientists across the total eclipse’s 3,000-mile long path will focus their attention on the white, wispy crown. They will observe it with telescopes, some as a part of the Citizen CATE project which aims to film totality for 90 minutes across the country. A few scientists will even be collecting images of the corona from airplanes soaring about 45,000 feet in the air.
Another headliner is Earth’s ionosphere, the electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere through which communication and navigation signals move. Scientists will use radio waves from ham radios, GPS sensors and giant radars to investigate how this layer is affected by the sudden darkening caused by the eclipse.Another headliner is Earth’s ionosphere, the electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere through which communication and navigation signals move. Scientists will use radio waves from ham radios, GPS sensors and giant radars to investigate how this layer is affected by the sudden darkening caused by the eclipse.
— Nicholas St. Fleur and Dennis Overbye— Nicholas St. Fleur and Dennis Overbye