NPR Eclipse

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from St. Louis to Houston took turns craning their necks for a midair view of the total solar eclipse.

Darkness and awe swept across southern Missouri and Illinois on Monday as the moon passed between Earth and the sun. St. Louis Public Radio's photographers documented the scene.

Total solar eclipses occur every year or two, but it is exceedingly rare for the paths of two of them to intersect only a handful of years apart, as it has in a swath of southern Missouri and Illinois.

Carbondale, approximately two hours south of St. Louis, is expected to welcome roughly 50,000 people to the college town hoping to catch a glimpse of Monday’s total solar eclipse.

Communities in the path of next month's total solar eclipse could see millions of dollars flow into their communities for a chance to witness a few minutes of darkness when the moon passes in front of the sun.

Researchers and state officials in Illinois and Missouri are preparing to welcome thousands of people who hope to catch the next total solar eclipse to the southern parts of their states in early April.