The video above is from Beatrice, Nebraska. The total eclipse there lasted nearly two minutes, causing jubilation among thousands of amateur astronomers.
During a nearly 90-minute span from coast-to-coast, millions of Americans witnessed a rare total eclipse of the sun on Monday. Beginning around 1:15 p.m. ET in Oregon, the moon's shadow travelled at nearly 2,000 MPH, reaching the South Carolina coastline by 2:45 p.m. ET.
For those who were in the path of totality, they had up to 150 seconds to witness one of nature's greatest spectacles. When the moon completely blocked the sun, day turned into night, and the stars appeared. Viewers coud see four planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter - in the middle of the day.
The harsh summer sun gave way to a cool, dark afternoon. The moon's shadow brought brief salvation from the heat of summer.
Although only a 70-mile swath of the nation got to experience a full solar eclipse, the rest of the nation witnessed a significant partial eclipse. In Cincinnati, nearly 90 percent of the sun was blocked by the sun. According to the National Weather Service, that was enough to drop the midday temperature by seven degrees.
And for those in the path of the total eclipse, the temperature dropped by as much as 15 degrees.
In space, NASA captured the moon's shadow crossing over the United States. The eclipse was enough to cause street lights to automatically turn on.
Watch the moon's shadow move across the US in this geocolor loop from #GOES16! See more #SolarEclipse imagery @ https://t.co/1oNaGe1dLN pic.twitter.com/uJbEVQin6V
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 21, 2017
