Total Solar Eclipse Begins, Crowds Gather To Witness Rare Celestial Occurrence — IN PICS

The much-anticipated celestial event of the year has commenced, as the first total solar eclipse of 2024 unfolds in the night sky. Beginning at 9:12 pm IST on April 8, the Moon has started its celestial dance, gradually inching its way between the Earth and the Sun. (Photo: NASA)

This rare celestial occurrence marks the last opportunity for North Americans to witness a total solar eclipse until August 2044, adding a sense of urgency and significance to the event. (Photo: NASA)

As the Moon’s shadow begins to cast its dark veil over the luminous face of the Sun, observers are treated to a mesmerizing spectacle of nature’s grandeur. The gradual obscuration of the Sun’s radiant glow by the Moon’s silhouette creates an ethereal display. (Photo: NASA)

While residents of India may not have the privilege of witnessing this extraordinary event firsthand, the excitement among sky gazers around the world is palpable. Here, The sun rises behind the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building on the day of the solar eclipse in New York City on April 8, 2024. (Getty Image)

Miriam Toy (L) and Oliver Toy share a pair of eclipse glasses that NASA was handing out as they await the eclipse on April 08, 2024, in Houlton, Maine. (Getty Image)

People enjoy the view from from the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center before the start of a partial solar eclipse on April 08, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Image)

A person uses two sets of glasses to see the eclipse on April 08, 2024 in Mazatlan, Mexico. (Getty Image)

People gather in a field on the campus of Southern Illinois University to prepare for the start of the total eclipse on April 08, 2024 in Carbondale, Illinois. (Getty Image)

In this image, The sun rises behind clouds on April 8, 2024 in Niagara Falls, New York. (Getty Image)

A person uses their phone at Edge at Hudson Yards before a partial solar eclipse on April 08, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Image)

A woman puts on her glasses to see the eclipse on April 08, 2024 in Mazatlan, Mexico. 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. (Getty Image)

People prepare their telescope to see the eclipse on April 08, 2024 in Mazatlan, Mexico.