Millions of people in the United States, Canada and Mexico looked up to the sky in awe as they watched the rare total solar eclipse on Monday. The path of totality, a tiny area where the Moon completely obscures the Sun, crossed across cities and sent the United States into a frenzy. Several enthusiasts who watched the rare celestial spectacle flooded the internet with pictures and videos.
Amid this, a stunning video captured thousands of feet above the air has surfaced on Instagram, leaving users delighted. Southwest Airlines' official Instagram account shared a video of the total solar eclipse as seen from inside the plane at 35,000 feet.
The video shot by a passenger shows how the sky turned dark as the moon covered the sun, indicating that the solar eclipse had begun. ''Once in a lifetime flight. Totality worth it,'' the video was captioned.
Watch the video here:
Reacting to the delightful video, one user stated, ''once in a lifetime solarbration!'' Another wrote, ''I got lucky and my flight flew right over Cleveland during totality.''
A third said, ''Amazing. I would have loved to have been on one of those flights.''
A fourth commented, ''I was on a Southwest flight the last time there was an eclipse! Such a cool experience!!!''
NASA also shared a video in which the total solar eclipse was seen from space. According to NASA, the space station experienced a totality of about 90% during its flyover period. The path of totality was 185 kilometres wide and home to nearly 32 million Americans.
The Moon's shadow plunged the Pacific coast of Mexico into total darkness at 11:07 am local time (1807 GMT) then swept across the United States at supersonic speed, returning to the ocean over Canada's Atlantic coast just under an hour-and-a-half after landfall.
Festivals, viewing parties and even mass weddings took place along the eclipse's "path of totality," where the Sun's corona glowed from behind the Moon in a display that left crowds awestruck.
