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Millions of Americans armed with protective glasses have marvelled at the first total solar eclipse to unfold from coast to coast in the US in nearly a century.

Day turned to night for two minutes during the eclipse, visible in a 70-mile-wide (113-km-wide), 2,500-mile-long (4,000-km-long) zone in the US, drawing one of the largest audiences in human history.

The last time such a spectacle unfolded from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast was in 1918. The last total eclipse seen anywhere in the United States took place in 1979.

The Canadian Space Agency described the initial glimpses of the eclipse as "Beautiful!" as Americans watched in wonder through telescopes, cameras and protective glasses.

US President Donald Trump watched from the Whitehouse alongside First Lady Melania while his daughter Ivanka and rock star Bruce Springsteen were among the excited big names who had tweeted advice that watchers should remember to wear their glasses when looking at the spectacle.

They saw the moon blot out the sun, cause a drop in temperature and turn daylight into twilight. It is expected to be the most observed and most photographed eclipse in history.

Nasa Moon, NASA’s official Twitter account about Earth’s Moon, said: "HA HA HA I’ve blocked the Sun! Make way for the Moon. £SolarEclipse2017" while Hopkinsville Police in Kentucky, which saw solar enthusiasts descend on the town, tweeted "Please DO NOT call 911 just because your Wi-Fi service is not working."

Dr Francisco Diego of University College London described each eclipse is "unique", saying that it "steals your soul and it happens in complete silence".

He told BBC News: "You cannot anticipate how spectacular this is.

"You are going to be in a landscape in a normal day and suddenly in a matter of minutes in the last part of the approach, a matter of seconds, this shadow of the moon is going to cover the entire landscape and you are being plunged into darkness. You can see planets like Venus and Mercury and bright stars, there is twilight all around you and that happens so quickly. "

Gloomy skies scuppered the chances of many Britons who wanted to see a partial solar eclipse on Monday evening.

The movement of the moon between the Earth and sun produced a dramatic event in the US but Britons had hoped to see the moon appear to take a "bite" out of the sun just before sunset.

Devon, Cornwall and the south coast of Dorset may have got a glimpse of the partial eclipse as about 5% of the sun was covered, according to Met Office forecaster Luke Miall.

He said: "The only place that had seen the partial eclipse was on the south coast of Weymouth which had a good show, but for the the majority of the country it was too cloudy."

Giraffes go wild at zoo

The giraffes ran in circles. The flamingos huddled together. And the rhinos just looked confused.

At the Nashville Zoo, visitors watched and recorded how the animals behaved when the sky turned dark during Monday’s total solar eclipse. And there was plenty to see when the moon slipped in front of the sun.

The only trouble was with 7,000 visitors and lots of noise - drowning out the zoo animals, crickets and cicadas - zookeepers still have to figure whether the strange behaviour was from the eclipse or the people there to watch the show.


The giraffes, especially six-month-old Mazi and 3-year-old Nasha, were the stars at the zoo.

"They’re crazy running around," said Nate Zatezalo, who came from Cleveland, where he volunteers at the zoo there.

During the full eclipse, all four giraffes ran. That’s not unusual for the two juveniles who scamper at twilight after the crowds leave. But the father giraffe, Congo, "usually doesn’t do anything other than being the dad" and is regal and above it all, said zoo volunteer Stephan Foust. But even the above-it-all dad got in on the running during darkness.

Zookeepers reported that before totality the orangutans climbed to the highest heights they’ve ever gone.

Teresa Morehead of Indianapolis came to the zoo to help track the animals on an app called iNaturalist.

She staked out the giraffes and rhinos. The rhinos wandered a bit, seeming to head to bed.

"I was surprised to the see they were running,’" she said, although noting that they seemed more confused than anything.
2:33AM

Baby Eclipse

A South Carolina couple has welcomed a baby girl whom they named for the celestial event that had millions across the country on the edge of their seats.

Freedom Eubanks told The Greenville News she feared the labor pains she felt Monday were another false alarm, but the contractions grew stronger and she knew her baby was on the way. Her only concern: was the baby coming right away or on Tuesday?

On their way to Greenville Memorial Hospital, Eubanks and her husband, Michael, decided that if their daughter arrived on the day of the eclipse, then that would be her name.

Baby Eclipse was born at 8:04 a.m., weighing 6-pound, 3-ounces and with a full head of hair.
2:22AM
When is the next total solar eclipse?

The ’Great American Eclipse’ captivated millions around the world - it was the most-observed and most-photographed eclipse in history.

However, if you missed it, do not despair: the next eclipse takes place on July 2, 2019 - crossing Chile and Argentina.

And Americans won’t have to wait long for the next US eclipse - an event that many scientists believe will be even more impressive than Monday’s natural wonder.  

1:11AM
Eclipse seen mid-flight

A passenger has apparently captured the eclipse during a flight.