Millions of Americans gazed in wonder through telescopes, cameras and disposable protective glasses as the moon blotted out the sun in the first full-blown solar eclipse to sweep the US from coast to coast in nearly a century.
The temperature dropped, birds quieted down, crickets chirped and the stars came out in the middle of the day as the line of darkness raced 4200km across the continent in about 90 minutes, bringing forth oohs, aahs, shouts and screams.
In Boise, Idaho, where the sun was more than 99 per cent blocked, people clapped and whooped, and the street lights came on briefly, while in Nashville, Tennessee, people craned their necks at the sky and knocked back beers at Nudie's Honky Tonk bar.
At the Nashville Zoo, the giraffes and rhinos started running around crazily when the sun came back. Several minor-league baseball teams - one, the Columbia Fireflies, outfitted for the day in glow-in-the-dark jerseys - briefly suspended play.
It was the most-observed and most-photographed eclipse in history, with many Americans staking out prime viewing spots and settling on to blankets and lawn chairs to watch, especially along the path of totality - the line of deep shadow created when the sun is completely obscured except for the delicate ring of light known as the corona.
