Total solar eclipse leaves North America in Awe; NASA footage from space station | Watch

It was a stunning spectacle. Thousands of skygazers across the US, Mexico and Canada viewed the first total solar eclipse of the year as clouds cleared offering a clear view. 

Though all of North America and Central America experienced a partial solar eclipse, only those located within the path of totality — an approximately 185-kilometre wide and 16,000-kilometre route — saw the moon completely obscure the sun. 

The path of totality crossed four states in Mexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit, Durango and Coahuila) before sweeping over 15 U.S. states (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) and seven Canadian Provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland). 

The eclipse, the duration of which spanned up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds, surpassed the duration of the 2017 event, which lasted upwards of 2 minutes and 42 seconds. 

The eclipse was first seen around the Western city of Mazatlán in Mexico, around 11:07 local time. The Moon's outer edge seemed to just be touching the Sun initially. It then began to cover more and more until all went dark, except for the silvery glow of the "corona" effect of the Sun around the Moon's outline.

According to NASA, it took about 80 minutes from the moment the moon first began to cover the sun to the moment of totality, then another 80 minutes to complete the process in reverse. 

The tens of thousands who gathered across the three countries expressed their excitement at witnessing the space spectacle. People wore solar-safe eyewear and lay watching the sky in a resort in Mazatlán as the skies darkened. The descent of darkness was welcomed by cheers, applause and whistles. Stars were visible, temperatures plummeted and faint waves of "shadow bands" flickered over the landscape. Zoos reported birds and wildlife falling silent and still.

Millions of people have flocked to areas across North America that are in the "path of totality" in order to experience a total solar eclipse | AFP

Laura Uzzle, 56, told Reuters that she was excited to experience the eclipse by a riverbank teeming with birds and insects."Even the wildlife changes," she said. "It's a complete sensory experience." Laura and Brian Uzzle travelled to the banks of the Ohio River between Indiana and Kentucky for the event. 

"Even with the clouds it is kind of nice, because when it clears up, it is like, Wow!,” a resident of Georgetown in Texas told AP.

Many also used the events to get married or propose. In Russellville, Arkansas, almost 400 couples tied the knot by the shadow of the moon in a mass wedding event dubbed "Elope and the Eclipse." At least two weddings and one marriage proposal happened among roughly 2,000 people who assembled at Niagara Falls State Park despite overcast skies, reported Reuters. 

NASA footage

US space agency NASA shared stunning footage of the eclipse from the International Space Station. The ISS soared into the moon’s shadow during the eclipse, according to NASA. 

"The windows on the cupola, the orbital outpost’s window to the world, were open and NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps were inside photographing and videotaping the Moon’s shadow on Earth, or umbra, beneath them," said the American space agency.

The space station was orbiting 260 miles (418 km) above Canada as the moon’s shadow was moving from New York to Newfoundland. “The space station experienced a totality of about 90% during its flyover period,” NASA said.