Monday, Aug 21, 2017 1:44 PMUpdated Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 7:15 PM
A partial eclipse of the sun is seen from Durango on Monday morning.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Durangoan Shaun Stanley caught a dramatic shot of the clouds and eclipse Monday morning from Durango. Photo courtesy of Shaun Stanley Photography.
People who did not have eclipse viewing glasses found other ways to observe it during the solar eclipse viewing party at the Powerhouse Science Center on Monday. Photo by Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald.
Children make shadow animals during the solar eclipse party at the Powerhouse Science Center on Monday. Photo by Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald.
A couple of people at the Powerhouse Science Center solar eclipse party on Monday give a whole new meaning to the word “selfie.” Photo by Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald.
All kinds of tools were used Monday at the solar eclipse viewing party at the Powerhouse Science Center. Photo by Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald.
A large group of Durangoans showed up at the Powerhouse Science Center on Monday to watch the solar eclipse. Photo by Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald.
Devin Kroeker photographed the solar eclipse through the lens of a welding mask on Monday as she watched it from in front of the Strater Hotel. Photo courtesy of Devin Kroeker.
Devin Kroeker captures the solar eclipse on a paper container lid on Monday. Photo courtesy of Devin Kroeker.
Devin Kroeker captures the solar eclipse through shadows trees along the sidewalk in front of the Strater Hotel on Main Avenue on Monday. Photo courtesy of Devin Kroeker.
Angela Elworthy’s daughter, Dakota, watches the solar eclipse Monday with her patriotic eclipse glasses and a juice box. The two watched it from their home in Rafter J. Photo courtesy of Angela Elworthy.
Paul Wirsching, Barbara Wirsching, Dave Sokol and Patty Johnson watch the eclipse at the Durango Public Library on Monday. Photo by Mary Shinn/Durango Herald.
A good crowd gathered Monday at the Durango Public Library to watch the solar eclipse. Photo by Mary Shinn/Durango Herald.
Susan Vandenberg and Marilyn Jameson watch the solar eclipse at the Durango Public Library on Monday. Photo by Mary Shinn/Durango Herald.
Glenn Ivanoff, a freshman at Fort Lewis College, takes a picture of the eclipse at the Durango Public Library on Monday. Photo by Mary Shinn/Durango Herald.
A partial eclipse of the sun is seen from Durango on Monday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald.
Florida Mesa Elementary School students watch the solar eclipse Monday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald.
The eclipse is seen through a 10-inch telescope on the roof of the Fort Lewis College Sitter Family Hall on Monday morning. Photo courtesy of FLC President Dene Thomas.
A crowd watches the eclipse Monday morning from the roof of the news Sitter Family Hall at Fort Lewis College. Ryan Haaland, professor of Physics and Engineering, explains to the crowd what they are seeing. Photo courtesy of FLC President Dene Thomas.
Ryan Haaland, professor of Physics and Engineering, looks at the solar eclipse through a 10-inch telescope on the roof of the Fort Lewis College Sitter Family Hall on Monday morning. Photo courtesy of FLC President Dene Thomas.
Tica Clarke took this shot of the eclipse from Vallecito. Photo courtesy of Tica Clarke.
Florida Mesa Elementary School student Canaan Burgess, 7, uses solar viewing glasses to see what the solar eclipse looks like on Monday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Students at Florida Mesa Elementary School use their solar viewing glasses to see what the solar eclipse looks like on Monday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
“Cape Boy” Jason Stern watched the eclipse through a box at the Powerhouse Science Center on Monday during the solar eclipse. Courtesy of Richard Ballantine
Durangoans gathered in several places Monday to watch the total solar eclipse make its way across the sky. Although the eclipse was only about 80 percent here, it drew crowds because of its rarity. It was the most-observed and most-photographed eclipse in history, scientists told the Associated Press. A solar eclipse is considered one of 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.
The path of totality passed through 14 states, entering near Lincoln City, Oregon, at 1:16 p.m. EDT, moving over Casper, Wyoming; Carbondale, Illinois; and Nashville, Tennessee, and then exiting near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:47 p.m. EDT.
Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois saw the longest stretch of darkness: 2 minutes and 44 seconds.
The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. will be in 2024. The next coast-to-coast one will not be until 2045.
