On 21 August 2017 the path of a total solar eclipse cut right across the US for the first time in nearly 40 years. For about two and a half minutes, the Moon will completely covered the face of the Sun, turning day into night. Here are some of the best photographs of the solar eclipse.
![GettyImages-836420104_master © Noam Galai/WireImage](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836420104_master-399e950.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The solar eclipse is seen behind the Statue of Liberty
![nhq201708210306 © NASA/Bill Ingalls](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/nhq201708210306-625f657.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Composite image of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington
![36670875426_39d028e28a_o © NASA/Joel Kowsky](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/36670875426_39d028e28a_o-588da57.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Composite image of theISS as it transits the Sun during a partial solar eclipse ©NASA/Joel Kowsky
Composite image of theInternational Space Station as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse.
![Proba-2_partial_eclipse © ESA/Royal Observatory Belgium](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/Proba-2_partial_eclipse-4b67d0d.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The solar eclipse seen from ESA’s Sun-watching Proba-2 satellite
![GettyImages-836011284_master © Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836011284_master-8c1d177.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Jeff Thornton carries his daughter, Sammie, to view the eclipse, Oregon
![GettyImages-836214184_master © Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836214184_master-e713668.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Eclipse Parking this way
![GettyImages-836246506_master © Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836246506_master-71afa5a.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Pink flamingos named Fred and Matilda have their solar glasses on as they wait for the show
![Moon_s_shadow_on_Earth © ESA/NASA](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/Moon_s_shadow_on_Earth-303810a.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The Moon's shadow on Earth
![GettyImages-836302198_master © Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836302198_master-bef60f4.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
In-camera multiple exposure of the solar eclipse as seen in Salem, Oregon
![GettyImages-836314664_master © RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836314664_master-4aa4ce1.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The total solar eclipse in Alliance, Nebraska
![GettyImages-836320630_master Nicholas Pfosi for The Boston Globe via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836320630_master-c52d333.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Boston residents check out the partial solar eclipse through cereal boxes
![GettyImages-836321764_master © Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836321764_master-c23b5dc.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Mobile phones illuminateduring the solar eclipse totality during an event on the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois
![GettyImages-836330566_master © Chris Weeks/Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836330566_master-f002b05.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Spectators at Zivo Vineyards in Amity, Oregon, watch as the solar eclipse reaches totality
![GettyImages-836331102_master © Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836331102_master-62aca54.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
A steaming pot shows the eclipse in its shadows
![GettyImages-836335950_master © Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836335950_master-f7e0064.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The solar eclipse is seen behind the Washington Monument from the National Mall in Washington
![GettyImages-836359820_master © Paul Morigi/WireImage](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836359820_master-19ae559.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
A lens flare shows the solar eclipse in progress
![GettyImages-836360344_master © Leigh Vogel/WireImage](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836360344_master-15d05b3.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
13-year old Bozmean, Montana residents look toward the Sun through eclipse glasses
![GettyImages-836400480_master © Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836400480_master-8cee24c.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
A woman holds a shadow after the total solar eclipse
![GettyImages-836404164_master © William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836404164_master-eb006cf.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The Great American Solar Eclipse reaches the 'diamond ring' stage just before totality
![GettyImages-836404504_master © Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836404504_master-9f25451.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
Rain clouds obscure the eclipse over Spaceship Earth at Epcot at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
![GettyImages-836405062_master © Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836405062_master-278e4df.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
A composite image of thesolar eclipse, Illinois
![GettyImages-836481430_master © Lou Brutus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836481430_master-0de9ad5.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
A small plane is silhouetted by the eclipse as it flies thru the path of totality in Saluda, South Carolina
![GettyImages-836427734_master (1) © Leonardo Alvarez/LatinContent/Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836427734_master-1-ffa5401.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
People look at a partial solar eclipse in the Institute of Astronomy and Meteorology at Guadalajara University, México
![GettyImages-836520566_master © Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836520566_master-d095bb0.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The eclipse approaches totality at Saluki Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale
![GettyImages-836633372_master © Cory Clark/NurPhoto via Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836633372_master-8eec05c.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The solar eclipse with a plane passing by from Philadelphia
![GettyImages-836717162_master © Gary Hershorn/Getty Images](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2018/11/GettyImages-836717162_master-e636cdc.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
The Sun is eclipsed by the Moon over top of the Empire State Building in New York City
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