Life

The First Photos Of The Solar Eclipse In Oregon Will Take Your Breath Away

by Eliza Castile
ALEJANDRO PAGNI/AFP/Getty Images

Are you tired of hearing about the eclipse yet? If so, your torment is drawing to an end. The big day is finally here, and if the first photos of the solar eclipse in Oregon are any indication, it's just as magical as we were all hoping (or at least I was). Solar eclipses aren't particularly rare —they take place about every 18 months, albeit in a remote location most of the time — but as you may have noticed, this one is special. The Great American Solar Eclipse, as some astronomers have dubbed it, spans across the county, beginning in Oregon and ending in South Carolina, for the first time in nearly 100 years. No biggie.

According to Curbed, about 200 million people live within a day's drive of the path of totality, a 70-mile-wide stretch of land where the sun will be totally obscured by the moon. Statistically speaking, most of these people have smartphones, so you can bet that the 2017 eclipse will be all over your newsfeed this week.

The first stop on the totality train is Oregon, where thousands flocked to cities like Madras and Salem. For those who couldn't make it to the path of totality, NASA is live-streaming the event.

But NASA wasn't the only one to capture the eclipse's approach from the horizon as it occurred. Side note: Nature is amazing.

When the moon finally began to cover the sun around 10 a.m. PT, everyone obviously lost their minds.

According to NASA, the eclipse will take around an hour and a half to traverse the country. The best place to view the eclipse will be Carbondale, Illinois, where the sun will be obscured the longest: two minutes and 40 seconds.

The eclipse will continue to cross through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and finally, South Carolina throughout the day. Even if you missed out on the path of totality, your fellow Americans have got you covered.

Just watch one of the many livestreams available or check out your social media feed to catch the moment the moon obscures the sun.

Here's one more totality photograph for the road.

After all, if you're not going to post a photo of the eclipse, why would you even have an Instagram?