Eclipses, once revered or feared, have now become a mass spectacle. A cosmic spectacle in which the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun. Although the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun, it is 400 times closer, so the overlap of the two is almost perfect. This Monday, the satellite has blocked the light rays of the star, projecting a shadow that has crossed all of North America diagonally, from Mazatlán (Mexico) to Newfoundland (Canada). In Little Rock (Arkansas, United States), an intermediate point on the path of the total eclipse, thousands of people have gathered to watch the Sun magically turn off and on.
As in so many places along the path of the total eclipse, the dimming has been progressive on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. Very slow at the beginning, when the phenomenon began and the nerves were upset. The twilight prevailed and the temperature began to drop as the total eclipse approached. Suddenly, the birds have begun to sing in confusion.
At 1:51 p.m. local time (seven hours more in mainland Spain), the Moon has completely covered the Sun, bringing with it a moment of disconcerting darkness that has lasted about three minutes. Sighs of astonishment and cries of euphoria have taken over some of the thousands of people gathered on campus as the Sun went out. Then, in that indescribable moment when the Sun is completely obscured and only a ring of light is visible around the Moon, silence has taken over before the majesty of the celestial spectacle.
Preparations to follow the eclipse at the Jack Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.Miguel Jiménez Cabeza
Then, dawn came again at full speed, to the confusion of the animals, especially the birds, so dependent on sunlight to adjust the clock of their habits. People were still impressed by what they had just seen.
“We traveled seven hours from Mississippi, it was worth it,” said Jonathan, 47, who drove to Little Rock from Hattiesburg, having seen that the weather forecast was good in Arkansas. He arrived on Sunday, he observed the eclipse with his wife and three children and when it was over he returned to the road. The weather report was the great concern of eclipse hunters in the United States this Monday, as clouds threatened to ruin the show in much of the country.
“It's an incredible thing, darkness at noon,” said Miles Blanton, a physics professor at the University of Arkansas. “It's so predictable that it almost feels like we make it happen, like we're in control. So punctual that it gives us that false sense of control,” he added. “It's amazing, I've never seen anything like it,” said Gavin, from Little Rock, at the time of the total eclipse.
All of North America has woken up pending the astronomical phenomenon. In the United States, the television channels hardly talked about anything else. On the ABC network they interviewed the interpreter of the unofficial anthem of any eclipse. “I still get emotional when I hear the song on the radio,” said Bonnie Tyler. “Every time the eclipse comes, all over the world they play
Total Eclipse of the Heart
and I never get tired of singing it,” she added, while she started with some notes live on the
Good Morning America program.
All the large channels were connecting with the different places along the path of totality of the eclipse, where massive events had been prepared, partly recreational and partly for scientific dissemination.
“It's a big tourist event,” explains Michael Pakko, an economics professor at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. “That's how it's going to have its biggest impact on the economy. We expect a lot of out-of-state visitors to see the eclipse, and while they're here, they're staying in hotels, restaurants, shopping for groceries, things like that. My estimates are that 460,000 people would be visiting Arkansas today. It is an event only comparable to a Super Bowl or a convention of the big parties,” he adds.
Perryman Group calculated the potential economic benefits associated with the eclipse and estimated that the United States is likely to see an increase in direct visitor spending of nearly $1.6 billion. “If the multiplier effects in the economy are taken into account, the expected economic impact rises to 6 billion dollars, with an increase of 3 billion in gross product and 1.8 billion in personal income for residents of the United States. Total spending by state (including multiplier effects) will range from $2.1 million in New Hampshire to $1.4 billion in Texas,” he explained in a report. The ones it will have a negative impact on will be solar energy generators. Up to 60 Gw can be stopped from producing. In any case, storms and clouds already alter production every day, which is something that is perfectly manageable by the network.
Activities of all kinds have been organized along the path of the total eclipse, but also in many other areas. In New York there have been many events and people have gone to Central Park with their telescopes or eclipse glasses, but there were also events to follow the eclipse on top of skyscrapers, on boats or in public parks. Those who could, have left the city towards places of complete darkness, causing heavy traffic jams both on the way there and back.
The path of the total eclipse has made landfall in Mazatlán (Mexico), on the Pacific coast, at 11:07 local time. After leaving its shadow in Durango, Torreón and Monclova, it crossed into the United States through the hectic Eagle Pass border crossing at 1:27 p.m., local time. In Texas it has also covered San Antonio, Austin and Dallas after noon. On its way north, it has darkened Little Rock (Arkansas) before continuing towards Indianapolis (Indiana), Cleveland (Ohio) and Buffalo (New York). On the border with Canada, the path of totality completely covers Niagara Falls, brushes against Toronto and completely blocks the Sun in part of Montreal before heading to the North Atlantic through Newfoundland. The towns of Cape Girardeau (Missouri) and Carbondale (Illinois), which were already in the path of the eclipse in 2017, have repeated it in 2024.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador observes the eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico.Mexico Presidency (via REUTERS)
Approximately 44 million people live along the path of the total eclipse, and another 200 million in a strip about 300 kilometers wide of significant obscuration, leading it to be estimated to have been the most-viewed continental eclipse in history. . In large cities on the West Coast such as New York, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia it has also been able to be seen despite not being in the entire outline.
The next total solar eclipse in the United States won't be until 2033 and will be limited to Alaska. In 2044, the Moon's shadow will darken western Canada, Montana and North Dakota. In 2045, a total solar eclipse will cross the country from California to Florida. Where you won't have to wait so long is in Spain. The next two solar eclipses pass through the Iberian Peninsula. The one on August 12, 2026 will completely cross the northern half of the Peninsula. The one on August 2, 2027 will cover the southernmost area of Andalusia.
At the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, Total Eclipse of the Heart
was heard blaring over the public address system
as soon as the sun rose again. Some have been encouraged to chant it.
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