Watch: The solar eclipse held everyone in thrall, including Trump (without protective glasses on)

For weeks, anticipation soared over the solar eclipse scheduled to take place on Monday, August 21, visible in the United States. Various festivals and events were organised to celebrate the phenomenon across cities. And when it took place, the spectators were not disappointed, having had a glimpse – ranging from a few seconds to about two minutes and 40 seconds – of the dazzling sight (video above) for the first time in nearly a century.

Surprising very few people, United States President Donald Trump was observed looking at the sun during the eclipse – without protective glasses on. His wife Melania and son Barron accompanied him in observing the eclipse from the Blue Room Balcony. At one point, onlookers called out to Trump – “don’t look” – as he pointed at the eclipse.

Bonnie Tyler’s 1980s track Total Eclipse of the Heart seemed a fitting anthem for the event – the singer even performed the song on board a cruise ship in the Caribbean during the total eclipse. Joe Jonas and his band DNCE accompanied her , which you can watch below, while the full performance can be viewed here.

Animals were affected by the eclipse, too. A video captured at the Nashville Zoo, below, shows flamingoes getting agitated and restless during the event, while another video depicts an increase in the sound levels of animals and insects in the wild.

“Catching a solar eclipse in a plane might seem like a flight of fancy, but we’re not ones to turn down a challenge. Alaska Airlines put together a team of aviators, astronomers and umbraphiles to catch ‘The Great American Eclipse’ on August 21, 2017. The result? A once-in-a-lifetime view of totality from 38,000 (feet),” said the YouTube description for the video below.