August 22nd, 2017 | Updated on August 28th, 2018
Standing on a White House balcony, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined millions of Americans to watch the total solar eclipse 2017.
The First Family gathered on the White House balcony to watch the first total solar eclipse to sweep across America in 99 years. President Donald Trump was joined on the terrace by wife Melania, his children Barron and Ivanka, and cabinet members including Jeff Sessions, for the once-in-a-lifetime event. At one point he even risked blindness by peeking at the sun without eclipse viewer glasses before an aide instructed him to put them on.
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Although the White House was not within the path of totality, where the moon completely blocks the sun and casts a dark shadow on Earth, the president and first lady were able to witness the moon cover about 81 percent of the solar surface. Millions had turned out to see the natural spectacle, including the Trumps and dozen of celebrities including the Kardashian clan, Ellen DeGeneres and Serena Williams.
A couple of minutes the sun began peeking out from behind the moon as it carried on its trajectory over Oregon
Oregonians caught its first glimpse of eclipse this morning. Pictured is the eclipse taken from Depoe Bay, Oregon, this morning
The First Family gathered on the White House balcony to watch the first total solar eclipse to sweep across America in 99 years
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President Trump squinted at the sun and pointed skyward before donning protective glasses to view the solar eclipse on
President Donald Trump watched the solar eclipse with first Lady Melania Trump and son Barron from the Truman Balcony at the White House
White House Senior Adviser Ivanka Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (L) joined them on the balcony to watch the solar eclipse
A partial solar eclipse is seen near the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York
People gathered near Redmond, Oregon, to view the sun as it neared a total eclipse by the moon
Pictured is the last few moments before the total eclipse at the Rosencrans Memorial airport near St Josephs Missouri as darkness fell
Navy sailors Soloman Rucker (Front) and Peyton Warner check the position of the sun on the flight deck of the Naval museum ship U.S.S. Yorktown during the Great American Eclipse in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
A crowd gathered in front of the Hollywood sign at the Griffith Observatory to watch the solar eclipse in Los Angeles
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Members of the media watched the solar eclipse at the White House in Washington, as it passed through the US
White House staff and members of the White House press corps smiled as they watched the eclipse with solar glasses
The Naked Cowboy played his guitar while wearing solar viewing glasses for the eclipse at Times Square in Manhattan, New York
Even the living statues in New York had their eclipse viewing glasses at the ready for the once-in-a-lifetime event
Jenney Vaverde, 42, viewed the solar eclipse at Times Square in Manhattan. New Yorkers only got a partial glimpse of the eclipse, seeing around 50 to 70 per cent of the sun covered by the moon
Festival goers watched the start of the solar eclipse and raise their hands in prayer at the Oregon Eclipse Festival at Big Summit Prairie ranch
People watched the start of the solar eclipse and raised their hands in prayer in an eclipse viewing event led by Native American elders, at Big Summit Prairie ranch in Oregon’s Ochoco National Forest
Thousands gathered for a seven-day eclipse festival at theBig Summit Prairie ranch in Oregon’s Ochoco National Forest near the city of Mitchell
Darkness swept across the US on Monday as the eclipse traveled from coast to coast, ending just before 3pm EDT in South Carolina
The International Space Station can clearly be seen in front of the sun, and moon, in this stunning image
The total solar eclipse was seen from the Lowell Observatory Solar Eclipse Experience in Madras, Oregon. Although it looks like nighttime, the picture was taken mid-morning PDT time, during the eclipse
Clouds break to show the partial solar eclipse behind the cross of St Mary’s Catholic Church in Janesville
The moon eclipses the sun above the Washington Monument during the so-called ‘Great American Eclipse’ in Washington
The moon eclipsed the sun near the Washington Monument. Eighty one percent of the sun was obscured in DC; the thin path of totality, where viewers were treated to a total eclipse, passed through portions of 14 US states
B.J. Dini from the ‘Hermitage of the Golden Dawn’ movement conducted a ceremony as he viewed the start of the total solar eclipse at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California
George H W Bush tweeted a picture of four generations of the family taking in the partial eclipse today
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Carlos Omar Gardinet placed viewing glasses over his phone to photograph a total solar eclipse from the Phillip and Patricia Frost Science Museum, Miami
A fashion designer who gave her name as ‘Nonsense’ watched a total solar eclipse from the roof of the Phillip and Patricia Frost Science Museum
A crowd wore protective glasses as they watched the beginning of the solar eclipse from Salem
Lee Cooper, from England, wore his protective glasses to watch the beginning of the solar eclipse from Salem, Oregon
Gabby Correa photographed the sun and moon as a partial solar eclipse took place outside the California Science Center in Los Angeles
Passengers viewed the solar eclipse from an Alaska Airlines commercial jet over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Depoe Bay, Oregon
Nicola James, 49, (right center) with her twin 18 year old daughters Holly (left center) and Grace (left rear) watched the start of the solar eclipse while flying over the United States on board Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight check VS5 from London’s Heathrow airport to Miami
Maddalyn Back, 7th grader at Academy of Innovation, reacted to viewing the partial solar eclipse in Vicksburg, Mississippi
People looked at the solar eclipse at the National Mall in Washington where the eclipse lasted more than two minutes
Oregon was the first state to witness the total solar eclipse and by 10.20am the sun was completely blocked out except for a halo-like solar corona
The state was plunged into darkness during the first total solar eclipse in decades as the celestial event-of-a-lifetime begins to sweep across the US
After a few minutes, a sliver of light was seen escaping from behind the moon as it carried on its trajectory
Thousands gathered in the small town of Salem, Oregon to get a glimpse of the event
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source : dailymail.co.uk, abcnews.go.com
