What to Know
- Crowds gathered on city plazas and sidewalks for a glimpse of the rare solar eclipse, even if only partial in the tri-state
- The eclipse started its journey across the U.S. Monday morning, from Oregon on the West Coast, to South Carolina by the afternoon
- The last time a solar eclipse carved a path coast to coast in the U.S. was in 1918
Not many things will get a New Yorker to stop what they're doing -- but a rare solar eclipse was apparently enough to halt people on sidewalks and turn their eyes upward on Monday.
All across the city Monday, people stood on street corners with their eyes glued on the sky -- many with special viewing glasses, some with homemade contraptions.
PHOTOS: New Yorkers Flock to Streets to Glimpse the Eclipse
For those who were able to see the actual eclipse, it was a sight to behold.
"It was fantastic!" one woman exclaimed.
"It was orange and it glows and it's amazing," another said.
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In midtown Manhattan, office workers, tourists and families packed onto the streets and plazas on Sixth Avenue to peer at the sky with their viewing accessory of choice.
New Yorkers also enthused on Twitter over the magical moment.
"How cool was it watching the eclipse today? Everyone was out on the streets in NYC," tweeted one spectator.
Another remarked with amusement, "The most NYC thing I've ever seen was watching someone stare at the eclipse via the pinhole reflection through a gluten-free Cheerios box."
Of course, this is New York, and so not everyone was impressed.
"I guess by 'total eclipse,' you mean partly cloudy?" tweeted one man in Brooklyn.
"Thank you solar eclipse, for causing major delays across NYC. You da real mvp," tweeted another.
Across the river in New Jersey, 6,000 people crowded onto the lawn at Liberty Science Center with telescopes, special glasses and homemade devices for the show.
The eclipse started its journey across the U.S. Monday morning, from Oregon on the West Coast, to South Carolina by the afternoon. The last time a solar eclipse carved a path coast to coast in the U.S. was in 1918.
