Travelers, undeterred by gloomy forecasts potentially spoiling celestial show, assembled from Texas to Maine for spectacle

Millions of people across 15 states, and in Mexico and Canada, were witnessing the rare and ethereal spectacle of a total solar eclipse on Monday, with cities plunged into sudden darkness and experiencing a precipitous drop in temperatures.

At lunchtime, the first such eclipse to cross the US in seven years swept ashore in the Mexican beach resort Mazatlán before crossing the Texas border at Eagle Pass and heading north-east towards Canada.

The eclipse’s path of totality stretched from Mazatlán, Mexico to Newfoundland, an area that crosses 15 U.S. states and is home to 44 million people. Revelers were engulfed in darkness at state parks, on city rooftops and in small towns.

Most of those in North America, but not in the direct path, still witnessed a partial eclipse, with the moon transforming the sun into a fiery crescent.

Totality’s first stop on land cast Mazatlán’s sparkling beaches into darkness before continuing northeast toward Eagle Pass, Texas, one its first stops in the U.S.

Total solar eclipses happen somewhere around the world every 11 to 18 months, but they don’t often cross paths with millions of people. The U.S. last got a taste in 2017, and won’t again see a coast-to-coast spectacle until 2045.