Solar eclipse 2024: Live updates from Chicago and beyond

Chicago area residents who trekked downstate to see the eclipse in totality said it was an “exhilarating” four minutes when the moon completely covered the sun. They also felt lucky to have clear weather despite scares of cloudy skies in preceding days.

Maureen Joy, 66, of Batavia, was with two friends at a small campground in Pomona, near the Shawnee National Forest, where about a dozen other people were staying.

Maureen Joy

“All of a sudden you hear someone hooting, ‘It’s starting!’ when partial started. And then it got darker and darker, and colder and colder, and when totality hit it was not like pitch black but like later dusk,” Joy said, noting they could hear frogs begin to croak and birds quiet down.

“We were all amazed, just enjoying the natural phenomenon,” said Joy, who hadn’t seen a total solar eclipse before Monday. “It was really cool, we really enjoyed it.”

The moment was also special for Jill O’Brien Mueller, who with her husband, Patrick, took their two daughters, ages 7 and 9, to Rend Lake in Whittington, Illinois. There they reunited and camped with friends they graduated with from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

O’Brien Mueller, of Naperville, said she was grateful to spend the day with her two daughters and to “impress upon them the significance of why it was worth the drive down, and how beautiful and special it was.”

She said photographs of a total solar eclipse “just don’t do it justice.”

“It was odd because it was sunny but it wasn’t normally sunny, and the sky was a different shade of blue, and the trees and the grass were a different shade of green,” O’Brien Muller, 47, said. “It’s so hard to put into words, it’s so special.”

Southern Illinois also dodged threats of cloudy skies during the eclipse, which had O’Brien Mueller and her family worried even up to Monday morning when the forecast predicted some cloud coverage.

“Then when we came outside it was sunny and it’s been sunny all day long, so we felt very, very fortunate that we got to experience sunny skies because we didn’t think that would happen,” O’Brien Mueller said.Totality of this year’s eclipse in southern Illinois lasted about four minutes, which is on the long end of typical solar eclipses and longer than the one downstate in 2017.

“It seemed to be more intense than last time,” said Greg King, of Tinley Park, who took in the eclipse from a hilltop in Eldorado, Illinois. He also saw the 2017 eclipse from downstate.

“I don’t know how to describe it other than just the word wow,” King, 60, said. “...The moment that it happens, it’s like wow, this is something unique. The four minutes passed by so doggone quickly.”

Another effect of the eclipse that King was reminded of Monday is the appearance of shadows during totality.

“A shadow during an eclipse is super crisp – very well-defined edges on everything,” King said. “During normal sunlight it’s kind of a hazy outline, but during the eclipse it is so sharp.”

At Daley Plaza, many came with specific solar eclipse glasses or makeshift ones like the DIY viewer made from a cereal box.

Angela Mejia, 37, of West Town didn’t have either. Instead, she brought a circular piece of obsidian rock.

“It’s volcanic glass, so you can see through it, but it’s thick enough to protect you,” said Mejia, who bought the obsidian in Mexico City. “Also, obsidian as a crystal is supposed to be a protective stone spiritually, so that is supposed to protect you from any harmful energies from the eclipse. It’s a tradition the Aztecs used to view the eclipse and it’s still being used today.”

As the eclipse reached its peak, Marquette Elementary School Principal Michael Marzano said he felt “gusts of wind,” and the temperature dipping.

When the sky darkened, students started asking more questions, putting their glasses back on, he said.

“A lot were expecting to see it totally covered,” Marzano said. “There were some questions of what does it mean to have a full or total solar eclipse versus a partial solar eclipse?”

Fifth-grade teacher Joshua Pittman noticed students got “more serious and quiet,” as the eclipse reached its peak.

When his students returned to the classroom, they asked plenty of questions, from the orbit and the next solar eclipse.

“I could see the questions formulating in their heads,” he said. “I was just excited to help further answer those questions.”

The reduction of sunlight during the partial solar eclipse changed the weather in the Chicago area.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures fell from 67 to 63 degrees at the service’s forecast office in Romeoville.

The eclipse was also visible on radar — the region of “ground clutter” on NWS radar, which usually reduces as surface temperatures drop in the evening, shrunk during the eclipse.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was among the crowd in Carbondale as a total eclipse fell on the city.

Thousands gathered in Saluki Stadium on the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus as darkness fell for about four minutes.

Jeff Roberson/AP

Crowds gathered Adler Planetarium to watch the partial solar eclipse. The planetarium held a free viewing party.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Quinn Lawson, who works at City Hall, didn’t see the 2017 eclipse, so he figured to take a few minutes off work to experience the hype.

“I hear everyone talk about it, and you see it on like anime and TV shows and things of that nature, so I thought it’d be a great opportunity to come out and actually see it in person,” Lawson, 27, said.

Lawson, of Hyde Park, was happy to see hundreds of people gathered at Daley Plaza to take in the moment.

“It’s good to see everyone able to come out here collectively and get along,” Lawson said. “There’s been a lot of things [happening] I feel like stateside and in the world and it’s good to see that everyone can come together collectively for one thing and just enjoy the moment.”

Darkness fell quickly but didn’t last long in Cleveland, where the White Sox are playing the Guardians this evening.

Erin Hooley/AP

Ron Schwane/AP

Sun-Times staff captured video of the moon passing in front of the sun during the peak of the partial solar eclipse in Chicago.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

About 800 students at Marquette Elementary School are gathering outside the school to watch the solar eclipse.

Fifth grader Roland Martin, 11, donned a NASA jacket — one he has been wearing all week leading up to the viewing.

Roland, who is “really into” science, remembered hearing about the eclipse four years ago.

“My grandpa was like, ‘It’s so far away,” Martin said. “But today, it was so exciting that I got to watch it.”

Initially, when he put on his solar eclipse glasses, everything was dark, but that quickly changed when he looked around.

“It’s like dots of lights,” Martin said. “It’s like the sun is halfway closed.”

Principal Michael Marzano, a former science teacher, said the viewing is an opportunity for students to “marvel” at the natural world, sparking scientific curiosity.

“The most important thing is not just seeing it, but then having a chance to process it,” Marzano said.

Fifth grader Angel Hernandez, 11, said he was excited for the “one-time experience.” He watched a video of the eclipse to prepare beforehand, he said.

“I’m excited to see it, but you also gotta be careful with blindness,” he said, holding his solar eclipse glasses.

The moon has reached peak coverage of the sun above Chicago, with about 94% of the sun covered.

Terri Higginbothal said Monday felt like a holiday.

“I came into work and I forgot what to do today,” said Higginbothal, an administrative assistant for the city, at Daley Plaza. “…I was so overwhelmed at trying to get ready for the eclipse this afternoon, so I was kind of thrown off by the whole eclipse.”

So, Higginbothal printed out some pictures of a solar eclipse, stuck them to a couple pieces of poster board and made a sign that read, “I’m here for the solar eclipse.”

“Last time I missed it. I’m a part of this time,” said Higginbothal, 58, of the Washington Heights neighborhood.

Early morning fog in southern Illinois dissipated in time for the start of the eclipse around 12:46 p.m.

At Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, photos showed crowds turning their heads skywards as totality approached.

Jeff Roberson/AP

Daina Stinson, a city employee, took a few minutes off work to catch the start of the eclipse at Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St.

“I think we’re very fortunate here,” Stinson said of the sunny day in Chicago, referring to her trip to Carbondale for the 2017 eclipse that was spoiled for a few moments from clouds. “And I’m excited that people are coming out and they’re looking.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

A total solar eclipse has reached North America over Mexico as throngs gather along the country’s Pacific coast.

It’ll race toward United States and eastern Canada before exiting into the Atlantic.

Fernando Llano/AP

Fernando Llano/AP

The first photos from Chicago are coming in as the partial solar eclipse begins over the city.

MESQUITE, Texas – City officials cheered as the thick clouds parted in early afternoon and the sun peeked out, with the moon already taking a bite out of it.

“We special ordered the sun this morning,” said downtown development manager Beverly Abell.

Hundreds gathered at Front Street Station for the outdoor watch party, many pulling out their eclipse glasses to watch the moon’s bite grow ever bigger.

At the Fort Worth Zoo, clouds occasionally moved over as the eclipse started. Zoo patrons stopped along the paths to take it in.

Todd Beeby, 34, drove up with friends from Houston. He said that even with some clouds moving over, the viewing was good.

“It’s kind of neat to see it roll in and out,” he said.

Eric Gay/AP

Eric Gay/AP

Before you put on those glasses to peer at the eclipse this afternoon, make sure to double check them if you bought them from a specific Amazon retailer or a store downstate, state health officials said today.

Certain brands were recalled for “potentially failing to meet safety standards,” according to an alert posted on X.

The glasses were reportedly sold through online retailer Amazon under Biniki Solar Eclipse Glasses.

There were also six retailers in Southern Illinois that had the glasses in stock.

Doctors say looking at the eclipse without proper solar glasses can lead to retinal burns and can result in blind spots and permanent vision loss.

In Carbondale, crowds are gathering at Saluki Stadium on the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus to watch the total solar eclipse as it passes over the area.

The moon is set to totally block the sun above Carbondale around 1:59 p.m. and last for over four minutes.

In 2017, Carbondale was in the path of totality of another eclipse, drawing thousands of spectators.

Jeff Roberson/AP

Jeff Roberson/AP

The partial eclipse has started in Chicago.

At its height around 2:07, the moon will cover about 94% of the sun and last for about four minutes, according to Michelle Nichols, director of public observing for the Adler Planetarium.

The eclipse will move out of the area by 3:20 p.m., according to NASA.

MAZATLAN, Mexico — Cheers broke out along the beach in this resort city as the moon began to pass over the sun.

Hundreds in a beachside park had passed the waiting time by readying their equipment and listening to a youth orchestra play Star Wars songs while a large screen projected images of Princess Leia behind them.

Luz Elena Aguillón de la O sat in the grass with a group of 14 family and friends who had gathered from Mexico City, Guanajuato and right here in Mazatlan to take in the spectacle.

“Happy to be here with family, friends sharing a singular, unrepeatable event that the universe and nature give us,” she said.

Fernando Llano/AP

President Joe Biden will hit Chicago on Monday afternoon to headline a downtown high-dollar fundraiser for his re-election campaign, estimated to raise about $2.5 million.

He’s set to arrive less than an hour after Monday’s partial eclipse. Darkness will peak around 2:07 p.m. in Chicago, and Biden’s public schedule has him set to land at O’Hare Airport at 2:55 p.m. after a stop in Madison, Wisconsin.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told the Associated Press she had no details to share on whether Biden would view the phenomenon.

According to a copy of the invitation, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, the fundraiser hosts are Michael Sacks and his wife, Cari, and Laura Ricketts and her wife, Brooke. The money will go to the Biden Action Fund, a joint fundraising committee consisting of the Biden for President operation and the Democratic National Committee. A campaign source estimated the $2.5 million haul.

Sacks, chairman and chief executive of GCM Grosvenor, is a major Democratic donor and fundraiser and the leader of the Democratic National Convention’s Chicago Host Committee. The city pledged, as part of its winning bid, to raise at least $84.697 million, with the aim now to collect between $90 million and $100 million for the August convention where Biden will be nominated for a second term.

President Joe Biden posted a brief video on X to encourage Americans to wear eye protection when viewing the eclipse — in a subtle dig at his predecessor and 2024 rival, former President Donald Trump.

“Folks, enjoy the eclipse, but play it safe, don’t be silly,” Biden said in a video showing him donning eclipse glasses and looking skyward from the balcony outside the Blue Room of the White House.

That’s the spot where Trump glanced up toward the sun without eye protection in 2017.

Sunny skies and crowds are setting the stage for a total solar eclipse and the Guardians’ home opener against the White Sox this afternoon.

The first pitch, which was pushed back because of the eclipse, is scheduled for 5:10 p.m.

Cleveland is one of the prime viewing spots along the total eclipse’s path today. Gates are opening at 2 p.m., more than an hour before the eclipse peaks around 3:13 p.m., when the orbiting moon will totally block the sun’s light.

Officials estimate over 200,000 visitors trekking to Cleveland for the event, including 26 Sox players and the team’s traveling crew. Most schools will be closed, and residents in the suburbs are renting their homes to eclipse enthusiasts from around the world.

The City of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications warned yesterday on X, formerly known as Twitter, that pets should be kept indoors during the eclipse.

Looking at the sun can damage both animal and human eyes, and the changes in light could spook them.

Chicago-area residents may be able to take in Monday’s solar eclipse in all its unobstructed glory as cloud models show a likelihood of clear skies during the celestial event, the National Weather Service said.

Northern Illinois and northwest Indiana will likely be spared from the storms and cloud cover expected over many of the other states within the eclipse’s path, according to the weather service’s latest update Sunday afternoon.

After a rainy Sunday, weather conditions for Chicago on Monday are “looking to be really good,” the weather service said, with mostly sunny skies and a high near 66 degrees. Cloud cover should be low to non-existent as the eclipse begins around 12:50 p.m. in the area.

“Worst-case scenario being some high thin clouds at times during the afternoon,” the weather service said.

Southern Illinois is squarely in the path of totality for Monday’s solar eclipse.

Total darkness — when the moon completely blocks the sun — will last up to 4 minutes in the center of the path, which passes over Carbondale before moving northwest across the state.

In 2017, southern Illinois tourism officials said about 200,000 people traveled to the 16-county region to watch the total solar eclipse.

Justin Myers/Sun-Times

An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people are expected to descend on southern Illinois today, where the eclipse’s path of totality will pass early Monday afternoon.

They include Sun-Times outdoor columnist Dale Bowman, who reported dense fog downstate earlier this morning that was slowly dissipating.

The eclipse’s path of totality, where the moon aligns perfectly with the sun and casts a shadow over Earth, will traverse about a quarter of the state, entering southern Illinois just after noon. Totality will begin about 2 p.m. and last about four minutes in Carbondale — in the crossroads of this year’s eclipse and the one in 2017.

Joshua Frieman, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at University of Chicago, and about 50 of his students will travel by bus to an eclipse event at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Total eclipses aren’t rare — there’s about three each year somewhere on Earth — but it is “quite rare” for one to pass over the exact same area within as little as seven years. That typically happens “every few hundred years,” Frieman said.

Carbondale also lucked out in having one of the longest periods of totality in this year’s eclipse.

“The duration of what’s called totality — when the sun is completely blocked out — that varies from eclipse to eclipse, and it varies also along the path of the eclipse, and one thing exciting is that in Carbondale, the totality will last about four minutes, and that’s on the long end of typical solar eclipses,” Frieman said.

Those not in the path of totality who look up will be able to see a partial eclipse starting around 12:50 p.m. Monday in the Chicago area, as the sun and moon line up. It should be at its peak starting at 2:07 p.m. — with, at its height, the moon covering about 94% of the sun — and last for about four minutes, according to Michelle Nichols, director of public observing for the Adler Planetarium.

The eclipse will move out of the area by 3:20 p.m., according to NASA.