20 More Years to Witness Another Total Solar Eclipse

On Monday, a total solar eclipse occured. Its umbra, the dark center of the eclipse's shadow, crossed North America, passing through Mexico, the United States and Canada.

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The sky displayed one of the most spectacular astronomical phenomena: a total solar eclipse. 

During a total solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, completely blocking direct sunlight and casting a shadow on the Earth's surface.

In the case of this eclipse, the moon's shadow traveled a swath approximately 100 miles wide, from the west coast of Mexico to the east coast of Canada, crossing the United States from west to east.

For those within this swath, day momentarily turned to night as the moon completely blocked out the sunlight. 

For a few minutes, the solar corona, a region of the sun's atmosphere that is normally not visible due to the intense brightness of direct sunlight, was visible. 

This is one of the most impressive aspects of a total solar eclipse and attracts astronomers and amateurs from all over the world. 

Mankind will have to wait 20 more years to witness another such phenomenon. This unique phenomenon will not occur again until 2044.