Continent holds its breath: solar eclipse stuns North America
JORDI BOU
On April 8, a total solar eclipse dazzled millions of people in North America along a path crossing from Mexico into the US andCanada.
The eclipse entered over Mexico’s Pacific coast, dashing up through Texas and Oklahoma, and criss-crossing the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England, before exiting over Eastern Canada into the Atlantic.
The total solar eclipse had a narrow path roughly 185km wide.
Within the US, more than 31 million people live inside the path of totality. Millions more reside within the path in Mexico and Canada, especially the more populated cities of Mazatlán, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa.
The path of totality came within 322km of major cities of the US: Washington DC; Baltimore; Philadelphia; New York; and Boston. Additionally, over half the nation’s population lives within 400km of the path of totality.
This eclipse was the first total solar eclipse to be visible in the provinces of Canada since 1979, the first in Mexico since 1991, and the first in the US since 2017. It will also be the last total solar eclipse visible in the US until August 23, 2044.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, aligning perfectly and completely blocking the sunlight.