Eclipse Day is here! Did you see it?

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Finally, it’s here. The Great American Eclipse Day has arrived.

The total eclipse begins on the West Coast just after 10 a.m. PT and ends on the East Coast a little before 3 p.m. ET. It might last for about two minutes.

Question is, will you be able to see it? There’s a major fog cover over the coastal areas. Meteorologist Steve Paulson said you’ll need to head inland for a better chance of seeing it.

Kentfield resident Vanessa Friedman bought special glasses and canceled a dentist appointment to watch the eclipse with her daughter. She was extremely sad that she couldn't see anything; the cloud cover was way too thick. 

Still, school children will be takin to the blacktop with special glasses to try to get a glimpse of the eclipse. In Livermore, the students were out with their glasses; the sun was peeking through during the eclipse time. And already, early Monday morning, crowds were gathering at the sold-out Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland.

An eclipse is the obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination.

Here are some fun facts about the eclipse:

  • This is considered the first eclipse in the U.S. in the internet age.
  • A total of 500 million in North America will get to see at least the partial eclipse of the sun.
  • The last total eclipse to cross the United States like this one does was in 1918.
  • The last total eclipse to touch any part of the mainland U.S.  was 1979.
  • The last total eclipse visible in Northern California was in 1889.