Millions of Americans converged on a narrow corridor stretching from Oregon to South Carolina to watch the moon blot out the midday sun Monday for a wondrous couple of minutes in the first total solar eclipse to sweep coast to coast in 99 years.

Veteran eclipse watchers warned the uninitiated to get ready to be blown away.

Planetariums and museums posted "Sold out of eclipse glasses" on their front doors. Signs along highways reminded motorists of "Solar Eclipse Monday," while cars bore the message "Eclipse or bust."

A minibus parked in a designated eclipse viewing area is seen in a campground near Guernsey, Wyo., on Sun., Aug. 20, 2017. Reuters

With 200 million people within a day's drive of the path of totality, towns and parks braced for monumental crowds. It's expected to be the most observed, most studied and most photographed eclipse ever. Not to mention the most festive, what with all the parties.

In Salem, Oregon, a field outside the state fairgrounds was transformed into a campground in advance of an eclipse-watching party for 8,500.

"It's one of those 'check the box' kind of things in life," said Hilary O'Hollaren, who drove 30 miles from Portland with her two teenagers and a tent, plus a couple friends.

Astronomers consider a full solar eclipse the grandest of cosmic spectacles.

The Earth, moon and sun line up perfectly every one to three years, briefly turning day into night for a sliver of the planet. But these sights normally are in no man's land, like the vast Pacific or the poles. This will be the first eclipse of the social media era to pass through such a heavily populated area.

The moon hasn't thrown this much shade at the U.S. since 1918. That was the country's last coast-to-coast total eclipse.

Rick Roty works with his telescope in a designated eclipse viewing area in a campground near Guernsey, Wyo., Sun., Aug. 20, 2017. Reuters

In fact, the U.S. mainland hasn't seen a total solar eclipse since 1979 -- and even then, only five states in the Northwest experienced total darkness before the eclipse veered in Canada.

Monday's total eclipse will cast a shadow that will race through 14 states, entering near Lincoln City, Oregon, at 1:16 p.m. ET, moving diagonally across the heartland and then exiting near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:47 p.m. ET.

The path will cut 2,600 miles across the land and will be just 60 to 70 miles wide.

Mostly clear skies beckoned along much of the route, according to the National Weather Service.

What people around the country can expect in their eclipse forecast

Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois will see the longest stretch of darkness: 2 minutes and 44 seconds.

All of North America will get at least a partial eclipse. Central America and the top of South America will also see the moon cover part of the sun.

NASA and other scientists will be watching and analyzing from telescopes the ground and in orbit, the International Space Station, airplanes and scores of high-altitude balloons, which will beam back live video. Citizen scientists will monitor animal and plant behavior as daylight turns into twilight and the temperature drops.

NASA's associate administrator for science missions, Thomas Zurbuchen, took to the skies for a dry run Sunday. He will usher in the eclipse over the Pacific Coast from a NASA plane.

"Can't wait for the cosmic moment Mon morning," he tweeted.

Melissa Howe displays one of her eclipse t-shirts designs in Guernsey, Wyo., on Sat., Aug. 19, 2017. Reuters

Near Victoria, British Columbia, where 91 percent of the sun will be eclipsed, science and math teacher Clayton Uyeda is planning to watch from a ferry along with his wife. He said he is "expecting to have a real sense of connection with the heavens."

He has similarly lofty hopes for his students if they can bring themselves to look up at the sky instead of down at their electronic devices.

Scientists everywhere agree with Uyeda: Put the phones and cameras down and enjoy the greatest natural show on Earth with your own (protected) eyes.

The only time it's safe to look directly without protective eyewear is during totality, when the sun is 100 percent covered. Otherwise, keep the solar specs on or use pinhole projectors that can cast an image of the eclipse into a box.

The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. will be in 2024. The next coast-to-coast one will not be until 2045.

Bill Nye the Science Guy on the solar eclipse

Monday's event will take place in the middle of the workday, which may cost employers as much as $694 million in lost productivity, according to global outplacement and coaching firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas, which analyzed wage and employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

States and cities in the path of the eclipse could suffer productivity losses of almost $200 million. Experts are warning businesses to expect increased absenteeism as millions of people are projected to travel to see the eclipse or take a break from work, which will cause productivity to plummet.

Even companies located in areas with a partial eclipse may have a "manic Monday." Challenger, Grey, estimates that the eclipse will cost the Chicago area $28 million, for example. Experts are encouraging employers to make the best of the situation by holding viewing parties and other team-building activities.

"A loss of productivity does not necessarily mean that good things cannot come out of this eclipse," said Andrew Challenger, vice president at Challenger, Grey, in a statement. "By considering how this event may impact employee morale, companies can turn this potential monetary loss to a gain when it comes to employee satisfaction."

CBS News will bring you live coverage with a CBS News Special Report beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Mon., Aug. 21, and you can watch the event on our 24/7 streaming service CBSN.</s>It’s not fake news; it’s good news. It’s a story that could eclipse all other stories.

There is no way you can stop today’s total solar eclipse from happening. It is celestial, and we have no control over it. The only way to stop it would be to extinguish the sun or knock the moon or Earth out of orbit.

Over the past few millennia, people who knew nothing about eclipses couldn’t explain the natural phenomena. Many cultures thought it was a sign from their sun god; it is even known to have ended full-flung battles.

Today, we understand how it works and how it looks. People chase eclipses like storm chasers chase weather.

But don’t try to keep up with the eclipse. You can’t catch it unless you’re in a jet traveling beyond the speed of sound — which NASA plans on doing.

Science geeks have been counting down to the millisecond for today’s eclipse.

Eighties music lovers have been humming “Total Eclipse of the Heart” for weeks.

Scientists are making last-minute preparations for experiments they have been planning for years, even decades.

Professional photographers and amateur astronomers have bought and tested special solar filters for their cameras.

Even the surfers at surfline.com have gone along the Oregon coast and cleaned the lenses off their surf cameras so they can catch the first glimpses of the moon’s shadow reaching the western shore.

Now, the day is here. And the rest of the country is joining in the excitement.

Sunrise, sunset and a starry night, all in the same sky

“The hair on the back of your neck is going to stand up, and you are going to feel different things as the eclipse reaches totality. It’s been described as peaceful, spiritual, exhilarating, shocking,” said Brian Carlstrom, deputy associate director of the National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate.

If you don’t believe, stop, watch and listen.

On mountaintops and in open fields, in the middle of America’s vast wilderness, people will stand together. They will stand on rooftops and city sidewalks. From big surf on beaches on the West Coast to wide-open sweeping beaches on the Eastern Seaboard, the moon’s shadow will fall. Towns in the path of totality that normally have 200 people will multiply by the thousands.

Millions are forecast to flock to the very narrow — 70 miles wide — swath that hugs the country like a belt.

“This will be like Woodstock 200 times over — but across the whole country,” said Alex Young, solar scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

The Federal Highway Administration is calling this a “planned special event for which there has been no recent precedent in the United States.”

The moon, which many of us often take for granted, will quite literally have its day in the spotlight.

In this celestial dance, the moon moves perfectly in between the Earth and the sun. During a total solar eclipse, the moon and the sun both appear to be about the same size from the ground.

According to NASA, this is a “celestial coincidence,” as the sun is about 400 times wider than the moon and about 400 times farther away. From certain vantage points on Earth, the moon will completely block the sun. This is called totality.

Then, it is just basic geometry. When the Earth, moon and sun line up just right, the moon blocks the sun’s entire surface, creating the total eclipse.

Even if you’re not in totality, everyone in North America will experience some version of a partial eclipse. Just make sure that you don’t look directly at the sun without your eclipse glasses.

If you pay close attention, you may notice that things you walk every day all of a sudden look a little bit different.

In New York, for example, stop by a tree in Central Park. Watch the shadows underneath the big oak trees and look for the small crescent shapes that the moon will leave fluttering on the ground.

No matter where you live in the United States, the environment around you is likely to change.

Some animals will go into their bedtime routines, while nocturnal animals will jump up from deepaily slumber. Streetlights will come on, and the stars will come out. It will be like you have sunrise, sunset and the night sky all at the same time.

Even if it’s cloudy, stay a while. Experts say that the cooling from the eclipse can make some cumulus clouds dissipate just moments before the peak.

Do you have FOMO? Experts say ‘don’t miss it!’

Just like you count on the sun to rise every morning and set every night, you can rely on this happening precisely, down to the millisecond. In fact, NASA has made those calculations for us.

You have now probably realized that the science geek in your office asked for a day off on this random August Monday over a year ago. Now, you are stuck covering for them.

Look at your calendar and block out the hours from 1 to 3 p.m. EST. Cancel your meetings, or have them outdoors. Take a break or have a late lunch.

According to NASA, experiencing a total solar eclipse where you live happens about once in 375 years. So unless modern medicine advances considerably in the next few years, you might not make it to the next one.

The last time anyone in the United States witnessed a total solar eclipse was almost 40 years ago, on February 26, 1979. It’s been even longer — 99 years — since a total solar eclipse crossed the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The total eclipse on June 8, 1918, passed from Washington to Florida.

It is an event made for sharing. This evening, we can all sit around the dinner table and say, “this is what it looked liked where I was.”

It is one of the first eclipses since the beginning of our recent technological advances. Most everyone in the path will have a phone capable of taking a photo of their surroundings.

Could this eclipse be the biggest thing on social media ever? No one really knows. But it could be the biggest social media event since the presidential election in November.

If you have FOMO (fear of missing out) — don’t. We have your back. If you’re not in the path of totality, still take in everything you can where you are. Or if you’re in the path but socked in with clouds that won’t dissipate, see how the world around you still is maybe a little bit different.

And no matter where you are in the world, you can immerse yourself in totality with us by watching the first ever live virtual reality broadcast that starts at 1 p.m.

The lunar shadow first crosses the West Coast at 9:05 a.m. PDT.

People in Lincoln City, Oregon, will be the first in the continental United States to see the total solar eclipse, beginning at 10:15 a.m.

A total solar eclipse can sometimes take as long as 7½ minutes. The longest eclipse duration for this event will occur near Carbondale, Illinois, and will clock in at two minutes, 43 seconds, beginning at 1:20 p.m. CDT.

Eventually, all good things must come to an end, and the lunar shadow will depart the East Coast at 4:09 p.m. EDT.

This will be the last total solar eclipse in the United States until April 4, 2024.

It’s not quite as long of a wait as you might have thought, but the next one won’t stretch the width of the country. Instead, it will move from Mexico to Maine and then traverse New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

For another eclipse similar to this year’s, one that moves from coast to coast, you will have to wait until August 12, 2045.</s>Emotional sky-gazers stood transfixed across North America Monday as the Sun vanished behind the Moon in a rare total eclipse that swept the continent coast-to-coast for the first time in nearly a century.

 CARBONDALE, IL – AUGUST 21: The moon eclipses the sun above the campus of Southern Illinois University on August 21, 2017 in Carbondale, Illinois. Although much of it was covered by a cloud, with approximately 2 minutes 40 seconds of totality the area in Southern Illinois experienced the longest duration of totality during the eclipse. Millions of people are expected to watch as the eclipse cuts a path of totality 70 miles wide across the United States from Oregon to South Carolina on August 21. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP 

Eclipse chasers and amateur star watchers alike converged in cities along the path of totality, a 70-mile (113-kilometer) wide swath cutting through 14 US states, where the Moon briefly blocked out all light from the Sun.

Festivals, rooftop parties, weddings, camping trips and astronomy meet-ups popped up nationwide for what NASA expected to be the most heavily photographed and documented eclipse in modern times, thanks to the era of social media.

Whoops and cheers rose from the crowd as totality began at 1716 GMT over Oregon, and similar cries of joy erupted roughly 90 minutes later when the phenomenon ended at 1848 GMT in Charleston, South Carolina.

“It was incredibly beautiful. I am moved to tears,” said Heather Riser, a 54-year-old librarian from Virginia, sitting on a blanket in Charleston’s Waterfront Park where thousands had gathered on the grass to watch.

Crowds in Lincoln Beach, Oregon were first to witness the partial phase of the Great American Eclipse, from about 1605 GMT.

Just inland, more than 100,000 people gathered at Madras, Oregon — typically a town of 7,000 — in what experts described as perfect viewing conditions.

 MENAN, ID – AUGUST 21: Danielle Bugge (2nd L) prepares her camera to capture the eclipse on Menan Butte August 21, 2017 in Menan, Idaho. Millions of people have flocked to areas of the U.S. that are in the “path of totality” in order to experience a total solar eclipse. Natalie Behring/Getty Images/AFP 

In Los Angeles, “oohs and aahs” emanated from the crowd of thousands of people gathered at the Griffith Observatory in the hills above the city as the partial eclipse began.

“This is a once in a lifetime event,” said 42-year-old Chad Briggs. “We have to start eating salad and be healthy if we want to make it till the next eclipse!”

Many had hiked to the site to avoid massive traffic jams. Some watchers had fashioned their own pinhole projectors out of cardboard and scotch tape.

In Mexico, where there was a partial eclipse, astronomy buffs set up telescopes fitted with special sun filters in parks and squares in various cities.

“Put down your smartphone and experience this one emotionally, psychologically, physically, rather than just through the screen,” advised prominent US astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

In the US capital, where 81 percent totality occurred, President Donald Trump watched the partial eclipse from the White House with his wife Melania and son Barron.

At one point, Trump glanced skywards without protective eyewear — a big no-no, according to experts. “Don’t look,” an aide shouted to him. He later donned glasses.

Eclipse watchers flocked to Washington’s National Air and Space Museum, where solar telescopes were set up for the occasion.

The National Zoo staged a viewing party, and national parks across the country organized programs for children.

In downtown Charleston, the last point in the path of totality, crowds of tourists — some in special eclipse T-shirts and star-printed trousers — had staked out prime spots on the bustling city’s storied waterfront.

“It is very exciting,” said Kwayera Davis, 34, an adjunct professor at the College of Charleston who set up viewing telescopes.

One bar had installed outdoor speakers which blasted Bonnie Tyler’s mega-hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” — which she also performed live on a cruise ship on Monday.

Many eclipse-watchers are overcome by emotion as the sky goes black, birds return to their nests and the air chills.

“It is such an incredible, sensory-overload kind of event,” eclipse-chaser Fred Espenak, a retired NASA astrophysicist, told AFP of the first total solar eclipse he saw in the United States back in 1970.

Experts warn that looking directly at an eclipse can cause permanent eye damage.

“The damage can really be permanent and right smack in the center of their vision,” said Vincent Jerome Giovinazzo, director of ophthalmology at Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health.

The only safe time to look at it is for those within the path of totality — and only during the brief moments when the Sun is completely blocked.

Everyone else should use proper solar eyeglasses, which are far darker than regular ones, or make a pinhole projector to see the eclipse while avoiding the glare of the Sun.

Cloudy weather and thunderstorms dashed viewers’ hopes of a clear view in some places, including Missouri.

Some of the clearest views were along the West Coast.

 MENAN, ID – AUGUST 21: A girl uses bespoke eclipse glasses to watch the eclipse on Menan Butte August 21, 2017 in Menan, Idaho. Millions of people have flocked to areas of the U.S. that are in the “path of totality” in order to experience a total solar eclipse. Natalie Behring/Getty Images/AFP 

Scientists planned to study the eclipse to learn more about the super-hot corona, or outer edge of the Sun.

Astronauts orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station were planning to document the eclipse, which they were in line to see three times.

“My first solar eclipse from space… We’re ready!” Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli tweeted ahead of the event.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General</s>Today – August 21, 2017 – a total eclipse of the sun happens in the continental United States for the first time since February 6, 1979. In other words, the moon’s dark shadow hasn’t hit anywhere in the contiguous US or Alaska for over 38 years. It’s been a mighty long time!

Enter your zip code to learn how much eclipse you’ll see, and what time

How to watch the solar eclipse safely

How to know your eclipse glasses are safe

Looking for a solar eclipse viewing party? Try this page

In fact, it’s been over 99 years since the moon’s dark umbral shadow has traveled all the way across the mainland US from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast. This last happened on June 8, 1918.

Although totality begins at sunrise over the Pacific Ocean and ends at sunset over the Atlantic Ocean a little over 3 hours later, this total solar eclipse is only visible on land from the United States. But at any single spot along the total eclipse path, the total eclipse of the sun lasts for a maximum of just over 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

What to look for in a total eclipse

See 4 planets during the total solar eclipse

How astronauts aboard ISS will see the eclipse

Unless you’re quite practiced at using a telescope and have a proper filter, don’t even try watching the partial solar eclipse through the telescope. Your best bet is to locate an astronomy club or an observatory near you that might be hosting a public viewing of this natural spectacle. Find an astronomy club here.

You don’t need a telescope or an optical aid to view this eclipse, but you do need proper eye protection. Safely and inexpensively watch this partial eclipse with eclipse glasses, or make a simple pinhole projector to indirectly view the solar eclipse, as explained here. You can also turn the telescope or binoculars into a pinhole camera, to indirectly and safely view any solar eclipse.

As shown in the above photo above, trees serve as natural pinhole projectors, casting leaf shadows and images of the eclipse galore. When you see the scene for yourself, you may want to sing along with the Beatles:

We present some eclipse calculators, which will enable you to find out eclipse times in your sky. The US Naval Observatory and NASA give the eclipse times in Universal Time. You must convert Universal Time to your local clock time. Subtract 3 hours for ADT, 4 hours for EDT, 5 hours for CDT, 6 hours for MDT, 7 hours for PDT and 8 hours for AKDT.

EclipseWise gives the eclipse times in Local standard time, so if you’re on daylight saving time, you must add one hour. Timeanddate.com gives the eclipse times in your local time, so no conversion is necessary.</s>Crowds of people showed up at Valdosta State University to watch the total solar eclipse (Source: YouTube, made available by VSU Archives)

For some people in southwest Georgia, this won't be the first time they've witnessed a solar eclipse.

The last total solar eclipse to pass over the continental U.S. was in 1979, according to NASA. That was only a partial view in Georgia.

On March 7, 1970, a total solar eclipse passed over Georgia. Valdosta was in the path of totality during that event.

WALB News Ten's Desirae Duncan reached out to people on Facebook to see what they remember about that day. Here are some of the answers she received:

"It was total in Valdosta...so my dad and mom drove a friend and I down there to Valdosta State University. We were there in front of the main building and it was quite an experience...It is really odd to go from daylight to night in the middle of the day."

"As we were coming back from fishing, it started to get dark, and the street lights came on. This was about noon time, and it lasted about three hours from start to finish. It was eerie and exciting to say the least, but we weren't scared. My friends and I had a blast that day."

We went outside and began to notice several things - changing sounds, changing temperatures, changing scents in the air.. Birds were hurrying to roost, Night bugs were beginning to sing. Bats came out. Dusk was happening swiftly before us and nighttime was approaching. Our eclipse was 90%, so it never got completely dark, but it was an amazing thing to experience daytime, dusk, mostly night, dawn, morning, then daylight again.

For more information on Monday's eclipse, click here.

The next solar eclipse to cross the United States will be in 2024.

Keep up with WALB on the go! 

Follow us on social and download our apps!</s>Aug 21 (Reuters) - Millions of Americans marveled at the first total solar eclipse to unfold from coast to coast in the United States for nearly a century.

LATEST STORIES > Americans cheer as total solar eclipse spreads across country > Illinois town gears up to become heart of U.S. eclipse > South Carolina aquarium to monitor animal behavior during eclipse > Solar eclipse presents first major test of power grid in renewable era > Millions of Americans to gaze upon Monday's once-in-a-lifetime eclipse > Solar eclipse to be streamed live for first time, from balloons > Lights, camera, corona: Hollywood embraces the eclipse > Self-sufficient eclipse chasers hit the road to 'totality' > Forest rangers, fire crews brace for eclipse watchers to descend on U.S. West > Citizen scientists will take to the field for U.S. eclipse > Oregon coastal city at 'double ground zero' braced for eclipse > America's total eclipse floods market with fake sunglasses GRAPHIC > Solar eclipse in 2017 http://tmsnrt.rs/2fNQHFb SLIDESHOW > Eclipse over America http://reut.rs/2vX9dPj

VIDEO > Americans get ready to view solar eclipse https://reut.rs/2iiJ0Ye (Compiled by New York newsroom; Editing by Bill Trott)</s>It is indeed dark during the day as a total solar eclipse makes its way from Oregon to South Carolina. Eleven states are in the path of total darkness. Follow the astronomical phenomenon's journey across America along with NPR journalists and others experiencing the eclipse.</s>INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Did you miss out on Monday’s solar eclipse in central Indiana? Well, we have some good news for you. You won’t have to wait a century or more to see another, and weather depending, the next one will be even more spectacular for a good portions of the state of Indiana.

North America’s next total solar eclipse will be on April 8, 2024. The total eclipse will take a different path than Monday’s, starting in Mexico, and moving through the central and eastern United States, before ending in eastern Canada. Much of central Indiana, including Indianapolis and the metro area, will be included in the path of totality.

While Monday’s eclipse peaked at two minutes in the path of totality, we can expect peaks of up to four to four and a half minutes for the 2024 total solar eclipse.

Other cities included in the path of totality will be Austin and Dallas, Texas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York;

There will be several more solar eclipses between now and then around the globe, but most of North America will not be able to see them. If Monday’s eclipse has you geeking out for more spectacular sights, here’s a list of some of the astronomical events that we can see between now and our next total solar eclipse.

Never miss another Facebook post from WISH-TV</s>SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Bay Area residents marveled on Monday morning as the Great American Solar Eclipse covered most of the San Francisco-area sun.

The eclipse, while not total in the Bay Area, created a dusk-like sky from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The Bay Area didn’t get a full eclipse. It got about 75 percent of totality.

The nearest area where the eclipse could be seen for Bay Area residents was in Salem, Oregon. But it was still a sight to see locally, as some even stopped on Highway 17 in the South Bay to take in the eclipse.

Hundreds of people gathered at science centers across the Bay Area, like the Chabot Space and Science Center, to watch the eclipse and gain some insight on what’s happening.

Some even gathered at the Fremont main library to take in the eclipse.

“It makes us realize how small we are in the universe, and it’s happening right in our backyard,” Librarian Brian Edwards said.

And in San Francisco, the eclipsed sun broke through the fog to create a spectacle in the City by the Bay.

Some called it a mystical experience while others praised the power of science. Either way, the spectacle seemed to leave most pretty impressed.

Totality passed quickly in Oregon — just 1 minute and 43 seconds.

Total solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic.

What makes this one so special is that it will cut diagonally across the entire United States.
• Missed the eclipse? America’s next one is in 2024

It’s been 99 years since a total solar eclipse crossed the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:
• VIDEO: SOLAR ECLIPSE MAKES ITS WAY ACROSS U.S.
• MISSED THE ECLIPSE? AMERICA’S NEXT ONE IS IN 2024
• TEEN WHO LIVESTREAMED CRASH: ‘I LOOK LIKE A HORRIBLE MONSTER’</s>A total solar eclipse will march across the United States on Monday, casting a shadow from Oregon’s Pacific Coast, across the U.S. heartland, all the way to South Carolina’s Atlantic Coast. Why is this eclipse so anticipated? This will be the first time in 38 years that the mainland United States will experience a total eclipse,…
Millions of United States residents and visitors are able to witness a total solar eclipse that crosses through North America. It is the first total solar eclipse visible across the entire contiguous United States since the solar eclipse of June 8, 1918.