A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America on April 8 as a total solar eclipse raced across the continent, thrilling those lucky enough to behold the spectacle through clear skies.

Eclipse mania gripped all of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, as the moon swept in front of the sun, blotting out daylight. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.

It was the continent’s biggest eclipse audience ever, with a couple hundred million people living in or near the shadow’s path, plus scores of out-of-towners flocking in.

Clouds blanketed most of Texas as the total solar eclipse began its diagonal dash across land, starting along Mexico’s mostly clear Pacific coast and aiming for Texas and 14 other U.S. States, before exiting into the North Atlantic near Newfoundland.

Just east of Dallas, the hundreds gathered at Mesquite’s downtown area cheered and whistled as the clouds parted in the final minutes before totality. As the sun finally became cloaked, the crowd grew louder, whipping off their eclipse glasses to soak in the unforgettable view of the sun’s corona, or spiky outer atmosphere, and Venus shining brilliantly off to the right.

City officials reminded everyone that the last total solar eclipse in these parts was the 1870s, making this one all the more special. Eclipse-themed music was turned off as the big moment approached.

“Oh God, it’s so dark,” marveled Aiyana Brown, 14, who watched alongside her grandfather, Mesquite Mayor Daniel Aleman Jr. “I’m a huge science nerd, and this is amazing.”

The weather also cooperated at the last minute near Austin. “I will never unsee this,” said Ahmed Husseim of Austin, who had the eclipse on his calendar for a year. Husseim and his family were among hundreds who gathered on the lawn of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, with blankets, lawn chairs and country music.

Arkansas and northeast New England were the best bets in the U.S., going into Monday’s spectacle. New Brunswick and Newfoundland in Canada also looked promising.

The show got underway in the Pacific before noon EDT. As the darkness of totality reached the Mexican resort city of Mazatlán, the faces of spectators were illuminated only by the screens of their cellphones.

The cliff-hanging uncertainty added to the drama. But the overcast skies in Mesquite near Dallas didn’t rattle Erin Froneberger, who was in town for business and brought along her eclipse glasses.

“We are always just rushing, rushing, rushing,” she said. “But this is an event that we can just take a moment, a few seconds that it’s going to happen and embrace it.”

A festival outside Austin wrapped up early on Monday because afternoon storms were in the forecast. Festival organizers urged everyone to pack up and leave.

Sara Laneau, of Westfield, Vermont, woke up at 4 a.m. Monday to take her 16-year-old niece to nearby Jay Peak ski resort to catch the eclipse after a morning on the slopes.

“This will be a first from me and an experience of a lifetime,” said Laneau, who was dressed in a purple metallic ski suit with a solar eclipse T-shirt underneath.

At Niagara Falls State Park, tourists streamed in under cloudy skies with wagons, strollers, coolers and lawn chairs. Park officials expected a large crowd at the popular site overlooking the falls.

During Monday’s full eclipse, the moon slipped right in front of the sun, entirely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the sun’s outer atmosphere or corona visible, would be long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent, and for planets, stars and maybe even a comet to pop out.

The out-of-sync darkness lasts up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds. That’s almost twice as long as it was during the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse seven years ago because the moon is closer to Earth. It will be another 21 years before the U.S. sees another total solar eclipse on this scale.

It will take just 1 hour, 40 minutes for the moon’s shadow to race more than 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometres) across the continent.

Eye protection is needed with proper eclipse glasses and filters to look at the sun, except when it ducks completely out of sight during an eclipse.

The path of totality — approximately 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide — encompasses several major cities this time, including Dallas; Indianapolis; Cleveland; Buffalo, New York; and Montreal. An estimated 44 million people live within the track, with a couple hundred million more within 200 miles (320 kilometers).

“This may be the most viewed astronomical event in history,” said National Air and Space Museum curator Teasel Muir-Harmony, standing outside the museum in Washingon, awaiting a partial eclipse.

Experts from NASA and scores of universities are posted along the route, poised to launch research rockets and weather balloons, and conduct experiments. The International Space Station’s seven astronauts also will be on the lookout, 270 miles (435 kilometres) up.

New Delhi:

India’s first space-based solar observatory, Aditya L1, is continuously studying the Sun but will miss the total solar eclipse today that will be visible over vast swaths of North America. The total solar eclipse is a rare event that people across the USA and several events, from skydiving to special flights, are being organized to witness the celestial phenomenon.

For the first time in almost a century, the western and northern parts of New York State will experience a total eclipse. The path of totality – a narrow stretch where the Moon obscures the Sun entirely – tracks across cities and has set the USA into a tizzy.

In its statement about the event, NASA says, “On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk.”

NASA is also flying special research planes to chase the shadow among many other experiments. Though the entire event will last for several hours, the main spectacle – when day turns to night – is expected to last only about four minutes when there will be total darkness.

But India’s Aditya L1 satellite will not be able to witness the event. This is not because the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has erred, but because the satellite is placed appropriately at a location that provides an uninterrupted 24×7, 365-day view of the Sun. The Indian scientists chose a spot to ensure that the satellite’s view is never blocked due to an eclipse.

“Aditya L1 spacecraft will not see the solar eclipse as the moon is behind the spacecraft, at the Lagrange Point 1 (L1 point), the eclipse that is visible on Earth doesn’t have much significance at that location,” ISRO chairman S. Somanath told NDTV.

The Indian Aditya L1 spacecraft is placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from Earth. A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation or eclipses. This provides a greater advantage of observing solar activity and its effect on space weather in real-time.

Aditya L1 weighs nearly 1,500 kilograms and is a scientific robotic satellite to keep a continuous eye on the Sun. This is India’s first dedicated mission to monitor the Sun, especially to understand what happens when the Sun becomes active. The solar observatory has been made at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

In fact, the Aditya L1 satellite creates its own artificial solar eclipse to effectively study the Sun with its special instrument, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC). Mr. Somanath says, “A solar eclipse is created in the coronagraph by eliminating the light from the disc of the Sun.”

Dr. Dipankar Banerjee, a solar physicist with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIAP), Bengaluru, says the spacecraft offers scientists the opportunity to see and study the corona of the Sun as seen from space and as viewed from the ground during a total solar eclipse.

Dr. Banerjee will be conducting some experiments on the ground in Dallas, Texas, USA, during today’s eclipse, and that data will be compared with Aditya L1 data for the same viewing period.

Nigar Shaji, the Project Director for the Aditya L1 satellite from ISRO, says that nothing will change in the Sun due to the eclipse.

“Due to the eclipse, nothing special happens to the Sun. The VELC spectroscopic channels will be operated in raster scan and sit and stare mode of operation [special observation modes] to observe the coronal structures in emission lines. This will be a joint campaign to corroborate with ground-based observations,” Ms. Shaji tells NDTV.

Aditya L1 carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic, particle, and magnetic field detectors. Using the special vantage point L1, four payloads directly view the Sun, and the remaining three payloads carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1, thus providing important scientific studies of the effect of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium.

Cautionary Note:

NASA says, “Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.”

As the Solar Eclipse, also known as Surya Grahan, is set to take place on April 8, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a warning for flying ahead of this celestial event. In a press note, the US government civil aviation agency advised that aircraft should be prepared for possible delays, reroutes, and changes in departure schedules for all the domestic (Instrument Flight Rules) IFR flights. The FAA’s website also listed the airports in the path of the upcoming Solar Eclipse that will be affected. 

“The purpose of this notice is to inform airmen of the possible impacts to air traffic and airports along the eclipse path during the period April 7, 2024, 1000 UTC through April 10, 2024, 0400 UTC,” the press note read. 

“Aircraft should be prepared for potential airborne holding, reroutes, and/or Expect Departure Clearance Times (EDCTs) that may be issued for all domestic IFR arrivals and departures. Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs) are possible,” it added. 

According to NASA, the April 8 Solar Eclipse, also known as the “Great North American Eclipse”, will be visible in several countries, including the United States, Mexico and Canada. The eclipse will cross North America, creating a spectacle for observers. As a result, air traffic is expected to intensify, particularly between Texas and New England, as skygazers prepare to witness the rare event, the FAA said. 

“There may be a higher traffic volume than normal anticipated at airports along the path of the eclipse. Traffic should anticipate delays during peak traffic periods. Parking may be limited – particularly at the smaller, uncontrolled airports,” the aviation agency added. 

Also Read | What Scientists Hope To Learn From Total Solar Eclipse In US

Further, the agency recommended early planning and vigilance for both pilots and airports to mitigate potential challenges during this period. “Special security provisions may be in effect for this event, including, but not limited to, Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), two-way radio communications, and discrete transponder requirements,” it said. 

Notably, the Solar Eclipse will not be visible in India. It will be visible in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the eclipse. The eclipse will then move to Canada before exiting North America on the Atlantic coast. Hundreds of schools across the United States are set to close on April 8th due to a total solar eclipse.