People from around the world converged on Missouri to watch the solar eclipse.
Among the crowd that gathered Monday at the Missouri Capitol were husband and wife David Colon and Mariana Perez, from Alajuela, Costa Rica. They flew along with his brother to Oklahoma, where their mother lives, and then drove as a family to Jefferson City.
They said the long trip was well worth it.
As the total eclipse faded, Perez said: "It's amazing — I mean, God is amazing."
It was the second eclipse they had witnessed — the first occurring in 1991 in Costa Rica when they were just children. Perez said the night-time-like chirping of crickets during the afternoon solar eclipse brought back memories of that childhood event.
Noon
Hundreds are gathering on the lawn of the Missouri Capitol to watch the eclipse.
Jefferson City is one of about a dozen places in the U.S. where NASA will livestream the solar eclipse and people drove for hours to observe it in Missouri's capital city on Monday.
Joplin resident Carlos Sanchez says he first saw a solar eclipse when he was in high school in the Philippines. He said he was blown away, and a little frightened, by a phenomenon that he didn't then think was possible.
Now Sanchez is waiting in Jefferson City to watch another solar eclipse with his 7-year-old daughter.
Emmanuel Thao came to Missouri's Capitol with his family to see the eclipse, which is happening on his 14th birthday. He said he's an astronomy buff and is excited to see what looks like a burning circle around the moon when the eclipse happens.
