Together

in Totality

The United States experienced a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, which left millions to witness daylight turn to darkness in mere minutes.

The moon reached full totality during the 2024 total solar eclipse. (Photo by Garrett Woodrum)

As the moon crept across the sun on a warm April morning along the Ohio River, crowds gathered in lawn chairs and on picnic blankets to witness the phenomenon.

While an estimated 31.6 million people lived in the path of totality, more came from all over the nation to see the full effect of the sight.

Regardless of who they were or where they came from, an overwhelming sense of unity was evident across the nation as millions turned their heads toward the sky.
Scenes from the 2024 total solar eclipse in Paducah, Kentucky.
(Video by Madeline Powell, Sean McInnis and Garrett Woodrum) (Photo by Preston Jenkins)

Danielle Jones from Huntsville, Alabama, captures a picture of the sun through a pair of eclipse glasses in Paducah, Kentucky. Jones made the trip to Kentucky with three friends, all nurses at the Huntsville Hospital, to see the solar eclipse in totality. (Photo by Lauren Howe)

A total solar eclipse is a rare event in which the moon passes completely between the Earth and the sun, leaving the outside world in darkness.

The 2024 event occurred mid-afternoon, lasting on average between three and four minutes across the United States.

Although solar eclipses are usually once-in-a-lifetime, another occurred in 2017, allowing many Americans to experience both sights.

From left: Phoenix, 5, Chelsea, Jemma, 8, Josh, and Griffin, 4, White lay back and watch as totality approaches during a viewing of the total solar eclipse in downtown Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Dominic Di Palermo)

Mackenzie Koch, 8, looks at the sun after putting on solar eclipse glasses before totality in downtown Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Adin Parks)

Carson Montgomery, 7, looks at the sun before totality in downtown Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Adin Parks)

Adrianne Wallwork (left) and Trevor Angel look up at the sun during a total solar eclipse in Evansville, Indiana. The Evansville natives walked to the riverfront and were surprised at the number of people there. (Photo by Eli Randolph)

“To be in totality of an eclipse is a rare thing."
-- Cran Combs, Owensboro Science and Industry Museum science educator

Maddie Pearcy, 7, blows apart a dandelion before viewing the total solar eclipse in downtown Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Adin Parks)

Cran Combs, the Owensboro Science and Industry Museum science educator, shows a drawing of sunspots, dark areas on the sun's surface caused by magnetic activity, in downtown Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Dominic Di Palermo)

Don Roberson, 63, looks through his telescope at the solar eclipse in Paducah, Kentucky. Roberson traveled from Atlanta, Georgia, to witness the eclipse in the path of totality. Since retiring as an electrical engineer, Roberson has taken up astronomy as a beloved hobby. (Photo by Kayden Mulrooney)
  • 13 states
    Experienced totality in the United States

Data sourced from NASA

Viewers watch as a total solar eclipse begins in downtown Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Dominic Di Palermo)

Gina Anzicek (right) and her mother, Pam Anzicek (left), check the position of the moon at her cousin Benjamin Wilhite’s medieval-fairytale-themed wedding during a total solar eclipse at Bob Noble Park in Paducah, Kentucky. Gina and her mother, Pam, drove from Michigan to attend the marriage and witness the total solar eclipse, taking frequent breaks from the ceremony to watch the moon overcome the sun. (Photo by Von Smith)

From left: Mylon, Ganesh and Aaron Sriganesha look up to the sky during a total solar eclipse in Evansville, Indiana. The family spent two days traveling from Atlanta, Georgia, to view the sight. (Photo by Eli Randolph)

A group of friends in Paducah, Kentucky, react to shadow bands appearing on the ground moments away from totality. Shadow bands are caused by the refraction of the thin solar crescent just before the beginning of totality or immediately after. (Photo by Ali Costellow)

Crescent-shaped shadows line the sidewalk in Noble Park in Paducah, Kentucky. In Paducah, totality began at 2 p.m. and ended at 2:02 p.m. (Photo by Kayden Mulrooney)
As the sky darkened, temperatures dropped. Shadow bands appeared. Insects hummed and birds chirped. People gasped, excitedly taking off their eclipse glasses to witness the world around them.

It was time.

The phases of the solar eclipse as seen from Sacred Heart Church in Schnellville, Indiana. According to NASA, the path of totality crossed portions of Canada, the United States and Mexico, bringing the spectacle to millions of potential viewers in North America. (Photo by Arthur H. Trickett-Wile)

Western Kentucky Unviersity Hilltopper Astronomy Club members look upward toward the sun as the moon begins to eclipse in Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Emilee Arnold)

  • 1 minute,
    42 seconds
    Shortest time of totality in the U.S.: Montpelier, Vermont
  • 4 minutes,
    24 seconds
    Longest time of totality in the U.S.: Kerrville, Texas

Data sourced from NASA

Adella Farrier (left) and her son Evander Farrier (right) experience the totality of the 2024 solar eclipse at Noble Park in Paducah, Kentucky. Paducah experienced totality for under 2 minutes, but other parts of the U.S experienced over 4 minutes. (Photo by Lauren Howe)

As quickly as the eclipse began, it ended.

The sky lightened. Confused insects and birds stopped humming and chirping. People put their eclipse glasses back on.

Some lingered in their lawn chairs or picnic blankets, spending hours watching the moon continue its journey across the sun. Some immediately packed their belongings away, preparing for the long journey home. One couple even got married, unifying their love as the sun began to shine again.

Benjamin and Cassidy Wilhite’s medieval-fairytale-themed wedding was overshadowed by the moon during a total solar eclipse in Paducah, Kentucky, at the Bob Noble Park Amphitheater. Benjamin and Cassidy Wilhite started dating six years ago after meeting in a university art class. They were married by Benjamin's father, surrounded by friends and family adorned in medieval robes. (Photo by Von Smith)

Newlyweds Benjamin and Cassidy Wilhite hold hands while surrounded by family at their fantasy-medieval-themed wedding during a total solar eclipse at the Bob Noble Park Amphitheater in Paducah, Kentucky. Benjamin's father, dressed in red, is a local pastor and the wedding’s officiator who was unsure if his son was serious about a fairytale wedding or if he was pranking him by making him officiate in a medieval robe. (Photo by Von Smith)

The Borntreger family watches the sky during a total solar eclipse in Evansville, Indiana. The family traveled from Summer Shade, Kentucky, to view the eclipse. (Photo by Eli Randolph)

Editors
  • Ali Costellow
  • Connor Marchant
  • Von Smith
Photographers
  • Emilee Arnold
  • Ali Costellow
  • Dominic Di Palermo
  • Lauren Howe
  • Preston Jenkins
  • Kayden Mulrooney
  • Adin Parks
  • Eli Randolph
  • Von Smith
  • Arthur H. Trickett-Wile
  • Garrett Woodrum
Videographers
  • Sean McInnis
  • Madeline Powell
  • Garrett Woodrum