As the moon crossed over the sun yesterday, millions of people from Mazatlán to Maine stopped to gaze upward in a profound experience of awe. The solar eclipse tapped into a primal emotion. It evoked for many a mystical moment, as awareness of the celestial encompassed the earth. It revealed the close dance between spirituality and science.
For a nation pulled apart by every manner of division, the eclipse also offered a moment of unity, however brief. It was a reminder to everyone, on the same day and at the same time, that life can be magical. That being alive is a collective experience. That there is something astonishing about being part of the greater story of things.
That’s the subject of today’s newsletter. Below are photos and scenes from Times journalists across the country who witnessed this moment of awe and togetherness.
Russellville, Ark.: Around 100 couples gathered to be married under the eclipse. They exchanged celestial vows: “I promise to cherish you like this rarest of events, treasuring each moment as if it were a fleeting or shooting star. The galaxies of our dreams, hand in hand, heart to heart, until the end of time. For in my world, you are my sun, my moon and all my stars.”
Carbondale, Ill.: The crowd at Saluki Stadium yelped and whistled and stamped the bleachers as the sky went dark and the sun’s corona beamed. People pointed to Venus and Jupiter, visible on either side of the eclipsed sun. The screams grew louder as the sun conquered the lunar surface and brightened the sky again.
Niagara Falls, N.Y.: Darkness set in above heavy cloud cover. But for a few wonderful moments, the fully occluded sun poked through. The crowd went wild. “It’s incredible,” said Martine Raussin, from Saint-Georges-sur-Cher, in central France. Hugs and cheers also abounded on the Canadian side of the falls, though the American side was considerably louder.
Manhattan: The crowd at Sheep Meadow in Central Park whistled and screamed as the moon covered nearly 90 percent of the sun. Drummers played their instruments. Some people stood in awe in the bike and running paths, angering some cyclists and runners who felt no reason to change their exercise routines.
Houlton, Maine: As the moon and the sun inched into perfect alignment in cloudless skies, turning day to night, the crowd quieted. Couples embraced. Small flocks of birds darted over the town square, and orange light glowed on the horizon. Time seemed to stop for three minutes. And then, too soon, sunlight flared. “I would pay a million dollars to see that again,” Sebastian Pelletier, 11, said.
Related: Read more about how the experience evoked awe.
More on the eclipse
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Play rights: The writer and composer Shaina Taub was doing research for a musical about the women’s suffrage movement when Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election. She initially felt deflated — she had worked at a phone bank for Clinton — but was buoyed by her candidate’s concession speech, in which she implored girls to follow their dreams.
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