Thousands of people in the area witnessed the solar eclipse that took place across the United States on Monday. Here the moon begins to move across the sun outside the Times News building Monday afternoon. It was, by all accounts, the most-observed and most-photographed eclipse in history, documented by satellites and high-altitude balloons and watched on Earth through telescopes, cameras and cardboard-frame protective eyeglasses. It took 90 minutes for the shadow of the moon to travel across the country. The last coast-to-coast total eclipse in the U.S. was in 1918, when Woodrow Wilson was president. The last total solar eclipse in the U.S. was in 1979, but only five states in the Northwest experienced total darkness. For those who missed the eclipse, the next chance to witness a total solar eclipse firsthand will be April 8, 2024, when it happens over a portion of the United States. The next coast-to-coast one will not be until 2045. For a story on the Western Pocono Community Library's eclipse event, see Page 5. BOB FORD/TIMES NEWS Copyright -