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What the 2024 eclipse moments of totality looked like in New Hampshire

People in New Hampshire experience total solar eclipse
People in New Hampshire experience total solar eclipse 03:24

LANCASTER, NH - History often happens in the blink of an eye, or in this case, 40 seconds. For the first time since the 1950s, a solar eclipse passed through New England, hitting totality in Lancaster, New Hampshire just before 3:30 p.m.

The phenomenon attracted thousands of people to New Hampshire and Vermont, causing traffic backups.

"We stayed 45 minutes away, and it was three and a half hours to get to this location right here," a man at the Lancaster Fairgrounds said.

Watch the moment the solar eclipse reached totality in New Hampshire 02:52

"I said well if you are not 100%, you are not there," another man said. "So, we decided to come up here."

"You could see stars"  

As the moon passed in front of the sun, people put on their special eclipse glasses. Come totality, the glasses came off as the skies darkened and the temperature began to drop quickly.

New Hampshire eclipse
A family watches the solar eclipse in Lancaster, NH CBS Boston

"I feel like it was super slow going into," a girl told WBZ. "I didn't even notice the difference when it was getting dark until it was gone. And then you could see stars in the sky."

The last time New Hampshire was in the direct path of a solar eclipse was in 1959, and the next time won't be until 2079. 

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