ROCKINGHAM — More than 70 percent of the sun was temporarily blocked by the moon on Monday during a solar eclipse.
The astronomical event was first visible from Richmond County around 2 p.m. and reached 77.2% occlusion around 3:13 p.m.
The path of totality crossed into Mexico around noon and across the border to San Antonio, Texas, within the next hour and a half (Central Standard Time), according to a map from NASA.
The path continued on a northeast trajectory through central Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, central Arkansas, southeastern Missouri and Illinois (along the Kentucky border), southern Indiana, northwestern Ohio, far western Pennsylvania and New York, northwestern Vermont and New Hampshire and central Maine and into New Brunswick, Canada.
Several onlookers across the nation had their view of the event partially obscured by cloud cover.
The Richmond County Amatuer Astronomy Club set up at Harrington Square to watch the eclipse.
“The forecast for this event went from clear but partly cloudy to rain(,then) back to clear,” Mark Gibson said in a Facebook post. “Very happy with the outcome. I’ve always said if one person shows up for the event it’s successful.”
RO contributor Betty Gallo McIntyre caught the eclipse from neighboring Marlboro County. See her photos below.
