Total solar eclipse sweeps across North America

DALLAS (AP) — Millions across North America witnessed the moon block out the sun during a total solar eclipse Monday.

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.

The moon covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Didier Timothy-Mondesir watches the solar eclipse from Prince Edward County, Ontario, Monday, April 8, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Restaurant workers in the Flatiron district of Manhattan take a break to view the solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Senate pages wear eclipse glasses as they view the moon partially covering the sun during a total solar eclipse, in front of the U.S. Senate on Capitol Hill, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

New York Yankees' Clarke Schmidt watches the eclipse from Yankee Stadium, Monday, April 8, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Issace Hutchison, 8, Ferndale Area Elementary School second-grader, views the solar eclipse through his decorated protective special eyewear with classmates at the school in Johnstown, Pa., on Monday, April 8, 2024. (Thomas Slusser/The Tribune-Democrat via AP)

Sun spots are seen during the beginning phase of a total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

People watch a total solar eclipse as the sky goes dark in Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

The moon is seen passing in front of the sun with the top of the Washington Monument in silhouette during a solar eclipse in Washington on Monday, April 8, 2024. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

People wear solar eclipse glasses as they observe the partial phase of a total solar eclipse, in Kingston, Ont., Monday, April 8, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

A newly-wed couple looks up at a total solar eclipse during a mass wedding ceremony at Trenton Community Park, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Trenton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

The Statue of Freedom on top of the U.S. Capitol stands as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Capitol Hill, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People gather to watch the total solar eclipse from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

People take selfies as they watch and photograph a total solar eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

People watch as the moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen views the solar eclipse before a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

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