The total solar eclipse in North America: Birds and other animals fall silent as planets and stars emerge

Difficulty: Summiteer (level 3)

Mexico, the US and Canada experienced a chilly afternoon darkness earlier this month as a total solar eclipse swept across the continent. It was a thrill for those lucky enough to witness the spectacle.

During the total solar eclipse, the moon moved directly in front of the sun, completely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the Sun’s outer atmosphere or corona visible, was long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent and planets and stars to pop out.

Almost everyone in North America could see at least a partial solar eclipse. The darkness lasted a maximum of four minutes and 28 seconds.

It was the largest eclipse crowd ever on the continent. A few hundred million people lived in or near the shadow’s path, and they were joined by visitors who flocked in to see the eclipse. The next coast-to-coast eclipse is 21 years away.