People all over the United States gathered April 8 to witness the total solar eclipse, across the United States from Texas to Maine.
“(The eclipse) It’s a special alignment between the sun, the moon and our earth all lined up in a row,” said Laura Trouille, Vice President for Science Engagement at Adler Planetarium. “What’s happening is just the moon is blocking all of the sun’s light and it is casting a shadow onto the earth’s surface.”
In Chicago, people came together outside across the city, including at Adler Planetarium. Eclipse viewers in the city saw 93.9% coverage of the sun, peaking at 2:07 p.m. CST. In Terre Haute, Indiana, the sun was 100% covered, also known as “totality.” The eclipse peaked at 3:04 p.m. ET.
“For an astronomer, the eclipse is like the Super Bowl,” Laura Trouille, vice president for scientific engagement at Adler Planetarium, said.
DePaul students congregate at DePaul’s eclipse watch party on Monday, April 8, 2024. Hundreds of students and faculty came together to witness the celestial event.
The solar eclipse reaches totality at 3:04 ET in Terre Haute, IN, on Monday, April 8, 2024. The eclipse was the last to make landfall in the United States for the next twenty years.
Veda and John Scarpetta watch as the sun returns to view following its totality at Fairbanks Park in Terre Haute, IN, on Monday, April 8, 2024. The couple faced heavy traffic, traveling from Champaign, IL, to view the eclipse.
Cienna Kirk admires the eclipse through her glasses on Monday, April 8, 2024, at DePaul. While not in the path of totality, Chicago had nearly 95 percent coverage of the sun.
Charlie Ash, left, and his mother, Christina Ash, observe the solar eclipse from Fairbanks Park in Terre Haute, IN, on Monday, April 8, 2024. Similar to many Midwesterners, the pair traveled across state lines to witness the eclipse in totality.
Elizabeth Miller and Sophie Young take a photo of the sun on their phone as they experience totality during the solar eclipse from Fairbanks Park in Terre Haute, IN, on Monday, April 8, 2024. For three minutes, the park was cloaked in darkness as the moon blocked the sun.
The next total solar eclipse of this scale in the continental United States will be Aug. 12, 2044; Stretching from California to Florida.
