From Canada to Outer Mongolia, millions of people observed a Total Solar Eclipse today. For those of us in the US, who could only enjoy in Second Life, here's a fun page with a video replay.
Total eclipses (solar or lunar) have always been considered omens. But, regardless of your beliefs or thoughts, it's an awe-inspiring phenomenon. It's amazing that the earth is just the right distance from the sun and moon so the moon can appear to perfectly eclipse the sun. Any variation in those distances would not create the perfect obscured effect. (You can observe demonstrations of this fact on the various sites here.)
I thought I remembered a total Solar Eclipse from my childhood, but according to this map there would not have been one where I grew up (in the Midwest) since before I was born. The one in 1991 passed sort of close to New Mexico, and I recall going out on the plaza during the day using the "pin hole in paper" method to view it on a piece of cardboard, since we didn't get the total effect here.
If you want to plan for the next total Solar Eclipse visible in the US, here you go. (It's not until 2017, so you have some time ;)
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