The moon has covered the sun over Mexico, marking the start of this evening’s total solar eclipse.
The highly-anticipated eclipse saw the Earth, the sun and the moon perfectly aligned, resulting in ‘totality’ – the moment when the face of the sun is completely blocked by the moon.
The Mexican beach town of Mazatlan was the first place to witness the total eclipse and cheers broke out on the promenade as it began.
Follow live: Who will see the eclipse and when
Thousands of people wearing eclipse glasses had gathered, with many sat in deck chairs as an orchestra played the Star Wars theme for the occasion.
The eclipse is now moving through multiple US states and up to eastern Canada.
People using protective glasses to watch the eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico. Pic: Reuters/Henry Romero
Today’s event is something of an anomaly as total eclipses are only meant to happen once every 375 years in any one place in the world – yet people in Illinois are seeing one for the second time in seven years.
The city of Carbondale saw a total solar eclipse in August 2017 and is today in the path of totality yet again.
The path is approximately 115 miles wide and encompasses several major cities, including Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York and Montreal. For onlookers, the total eclipse should last up to four minutes and 28 seconds.
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Tourists began gathering at Niagara Falls State Park hours before the eclipse. Pic: AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson
More people will experience this total eclipse than at any other point in human history, US correspondent Mark Stone said.
The shadow is passing over the homes of 32 million people – and plenty more have travelled to see it, with Texas alone preparing for up to one million visitors.
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Some US towns and counties declared state of emergencies in a bid to get ahead of the influx of star gazers, and residents and tourists alike were told to stock up on food and water before the big day amid shortage fears.
Bad weather could ruin the view for some people in the States though, and the heaviest clouds are expected in parts of Texas.
A partial eclipse, set to start at 7.52pm BST, may be visible in parts of Ireland and the UK.
