Doors have opened at one park in Mesquite, Texas, in anticipation of the total solar eclipse.

Many began queuing in the early hours for the perfect spot - with people filtering in equipped with blankets, food and of course their cameras to capture the the big celestial moment.

Up to 3,000 people are expected at the park.

While the odd umbrella has come into view, people are hoping to stave off the rain.

Eloise Alanna
Reporting from Quebec, Canada

It's a glorious sunny morning in Quebec, where the path of totality will pass at 15:26 local time (20:26 BST).

I'm trying to escape the crowds that will gathering in huge numbers in Montreal. Instead, I'm hoping for a more intimate experience at a nature reserve at Lake Boivin about a 90-minute drive east of the city.

The solar eclipse will be a family affair across this part of Canada, with many schools closed because the moment of darkness coincides with going home time.

Fingers crossed the blue skies stay.

Image source, Hilding Neilson

The tiny town of Gander, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, will be one of the very last places the eclipse can be seen on land.

And the town isn't missing a beat - since Friday residents have been revelling in a science festival with talks, space trivia and an inflatable planetarium.

Today, a few thousand people are expected to watch the solar eclipse from the town. Hopefully.

"It could be hard to enjoy, there's a 10% chance of clear weather,” astronomer Hilding Neilson told the BBC last week.

"It could go many ways, but we are in the path of totality, so we will still get the dark sky, and hopefully we get an ‘oooh and ahhhh’ moment," he added.

Technically, the very, very last place on land is the super-tiny town of Maberly, nearly a three-hour drive from Gander.

Helena Humphrey
Reporting from Lake Erie, Ohio

With weather reports changing hour by hour, making sure you're in the right spot for the best view is a science in itself.

I was relieved when I came across Nasa engineer, Chris Bennett, here on Lake Erie in Ohio.

He tells me he got hooked on eclipses after the last total one across the US in 2017.

He travelled from Maryland yesterday, sleeping in his car to be up bright and early, setting up all his viewing gear - including a telescope with a filter to protect his camera and binoculars to project the eclipse onto the ground for those who don’t have glasses.

"There's nothing like it, it's truly unique," he promises me.

Nadine Yousif
BBC News

Spoiler - Do not look directly at the sun!

If you want to go outside and watch the eclipse you need the appropriate gear.

Looking directly at the sun with the naked eye is dangerous, and could result in permanent damage or blindness.

Experts recommend using solar eclipse glasses, which have a special filter that blocks damaging UV rays. These glasses are different from sunglasses - they are far stronger and block all light entirely except that coming from the sun.

If you have a pair and want to test its authenticity, experts recommend wearing them inside. You should not be able to see anything.

But if it’s too late to grab glasses, two pieces of paper and a pushpin will do the trick. Simply pierce a hole using the pushpin in one piece of paper. With your back to the sun, hold that paper above your shoulder so the sun's rays can shine through that small little hole.

At the same time, hold up the other piece of paper in front of you. It will act like a screen, onto which the Sun's rays will be projected.

Check out the video above to see how it is done.

Richard Fisher
BBC Future

Image source, Getty Images

We accept total solar eclipses as part of life on this planet, but if the Solar System had formed differently, they wouldn't happen.

The Sun is 400 times the diameter of the Moon, while also sitting about 400 times further from the Earth, so the two appear the same size in the sky.

It's quite the coincidence.

In his co-authored book Totality, Mark Littmann points out that if the Moon was just 273km (169 miles) smaller in diameter, or if it were further away, people would never see the kind of total eclipse that will cross the Americas today.

If you are not one of the lucky people who can go outside and (safely, use those eclipse glasses) stare up at the sky, we have you covered.You can watch our live coverage of the solar eclipse as the shadow streaks across North America.

Just hit the play button at the top of this page.

Image source, .

Astronomers in the US and Canada have mapped out exactly where the path of totality will be - and as long as you're on that path, you should be able to catch the total solar eclipse.

That path, by the way, is 115 miles (183km) wide on average. Some major cities along it include Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Buffalo.

Niagara Falls will also be a great spot to catch the total solar eclipse, whether you're on the Canadian or American side.

For Canadians, the path of totality includes Hamilton, Ontario, Montreal, Quebec, and Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.

People around those cities will still be able to see the solar eclipse, albeit a partial one, and the percentage of the Sun covered by the Moon's shadow will depend on where you are.

Here are some more photos from Niagara Falls, where it's a slightly chilly 10C (50F). That's not stopping these eager eclipse watchers, who are already gathering.

The iconic landmark is in the path of totality, with the total eclipse slated to start there around 15:18 local time (20:18 GMT).

More than a million people are expected to watch the eclipse from Niagara Falls.

For now, folks are bundled up in blankets and puffer jackets as they await what is promised to be a spectacular view.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from Niagara Falls, New York State

We’ve decided like so many other people to experience this celestial phenomenon at one of North America’s natural wonders.

At Niagara Falls, park officials expect this to be one of the largest crowds they’ve ever had - both here on the US side and over on the Canadian side.

Tourists are just beginning to pour in, excited to cross two items off their bucket list at once.

Yesterday, we met a couple with a two month old baby boy. With the cloudy forecast, they decided to relocate and drive three hours away further east.

At the moment, it’s pretty overcast. Everyone is crossing their fingers.

Beyond a chance to see the brilliance of the sun’s corona in totality, people were hoping that they could catch the sunny-day rainbow above the falls turn pink during the eclipse - that might be wishful thinking with this weather, but one can hope!

Angelica Casas
Reporting from Texas

I’m on my way to Eagle Pass, a town on the US-Mexico border that will be the first in the country to experience the eclipse.

We’re expecting 4 minutes and 23 seconds of totality there - one of the longest stretches of blackout along the eclipse’s path.

Though the town has a population of less than 30,000, local officials estimate that some 17,000 visitors have descended onto the area. Perhaps what these visitors weren’t expecting is the cloudy weather.

The sky throughout many Texas cities along the eclipse’s path has been quite overcast. Hopefully that doesn’t ruin the fun - or the views - when the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle turns day into night at 13:27 local time.

If you're just joining us, get your (solar) glasses ready, here's what you need to know. Today's cosmic event only occurs every 18 months or so, and requires the sun, moon and Earth to be in perfect alignment for the moon to cast a visible shadow. The US saw its last total solar eclipse in 2017, but astronomers predict the next one won't occur until 2045. Today's eclipse is set to last two hours as it rolls across Mexico, 13 US states, and eastern Canada.

For those lucky enough to be in the path of totality, where you can see 100% of the blackout, the event will begin just before 1300ET in Mazatlán, Mexico.

This will follow a northeast trajectory across Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio, before ending in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We'll be bringing you the latest updates right here, and you can watch our live coverage by hitting play at the top of this page.

Nomia Iqbal
Reporting from Mesquite, Texas

We hear so much about what you’ll see with the solar eclipse, but what about the blind and visually impaired?

Enter the light sound box.

Created in 2017, light sensors pick up the light and convert it into sound of flutes and clarinets that play out on a speaker. When it goes dark, the sensor shuts off emitting a deep low tone, which perks up again once light is emitted.

Johnelle Gonzales, a public program educator from Lowell Observatory, tells us it’s about making the celestial phenomenon accessible to everyone.

“A lot of people think about the solar eclipse as being a specifically visual thing, and that is a huge part of it, but there are so many other senses that almost come to life with that too, including your hearing, so this allows us to be able to associate the intensity of the light with sound and hear how the pitch would change as that intensity lowers," she says.

“Given that this is a somewhat new device, I think the popularity of it will definitely increase throughout the years. Part of us using this is to really get that out there – we want to reach all sorts of different audiences and make science accessible for them.”

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

So, yes, the reason we get a total solar eclipse is because the Moon, although relatively small compared with the Sun, is much closer to us than our star.

The apparent sizes of their discs match each other perfectly. But this won’t always be the case. The Moon is very gradually moving away from the Earth by about 3cm a year.

This means that the Moon over time will appear smaller and smaller in the sky.

So, when an eclipse happens in a few hundred million years, future earthlings (if we are still around) won’t get to see a total eclipse; they’ll witness instead what’s known as an annular eclipse, in which the Sun isn’t fully blocked and a ring of bright sunshine remains around the Moon.

Image source, CBS

We've been hearing from a real eclipse aficionado.

For veteran amateur astronomer LaVerne Biser, who is 105 years old and from Ohio, this total eclipse is particularly special because he expects it to be his last."I will be 106 soon, this will be my last one, there won't be any more," he tells the BBC's World Service Programme.

"I live in (Texas) and there so many lights around here, they've ruined my sky and I can't see very many stars now."

"When I grew up out on a farm in Ohio, in the country, I could look at all kinds of stars".

HIs family holidays were often scheduled around astronomical events, and while at college in the 1930s he built three telescopes. "I took cruises all over the world to see (eclipses). Now I don't need to drive anywhere - I can just walk out the door and look up". This will be the 13th solar eclipse he has seen. "Most of things I see happen real slow, this is something that happens real fast, and this is real beautiful to watch," he says.

Ben Rich
BBC Weather

With cloud in the forecast for at least some parts of the US, eclipse-hunters might be bracing themselves for disappointment.

But a cloudy eclipse can still be spectacular.

Growing up in south west England, I witnessed the total eclipse of 1999 – and at our vantage point on the western edge of Dartmoor, thick clouds stubbornly blocked our view of the moon and the sun. In spite of this it was a remarkable spectacle.

As totality approached the world darkened eerily, as if dusk was falling. It became noticeably colder and the sounds of August birdsong stopped as nature reacted just as it would at nightfall – and the awestruck crowd fell just as silent.

So if you’re fortunate enough to be in the zone of totality today don’t be too downcast if it ends up overcast. My cloudy eclipse is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Jonathan O'Callaghan
Features correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Locations in the path of totality will be plunged into darkness for three to four minutes, but that is enough to perform some of the rarest of experiments, with scientists hoping to observe the Sun's atmosphere – its corona – as it dances around the Moon, the reaction of wildlife to the celestial event, and even launching rockets to observe how Earth's atmosphere reacts.

Scientists led by Montana University aim to launch around 600 balloons high into the atmosphere to study how the eclipse affects weather conditions.

The balloons will study study gravity and pressure waves, as well as humidity and wind speed and direction.

In addition to balloons, scientists will launch planes and rockets to study the eclipse. But some research is taking place closer to the ground.

Adam Hartstone-Rose from NC State University in North Carolina studied how animals in zoos behaved during the 2017 eclipse, and is doing so again today.

The "most crazy behaviour", says Hartstone-Rose, was a group of Galapagos tortoises.

“As totality grew, they became more and more active," he says. "Right at the peak of totality, they started mating, which we cannot explain. Maybe it was as one-time thing. We're going to be watching more tortoises this time around."

You can read more about how scientists will study the eclipse here.

Marita Moloney
Live editor

Happy solar eclipse day to all who may get to see it.

Today this astrological phenomenon will span Mexico to the very eastern tip of Canada, with hundreds of events planned to catch a glimpse of this rare event.

But what is it, you ask? A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, blocking some or all of the Sun's rays from reaching the Earth.

The phenomenon is a cosmic event, requiring the Sun, the Moon and the Earth to be in perfect alignment for the Moon to cast a shadow on our planet.

How rare is this? A total solar eclipse occurs somewhere on Earth roughly every 18 months or so. The continental US was also lucky enough to see one in 2017, but its next significant opportunity won't come until 2045.

Let's talk timings: All in all, the phenomenon itself will last two hours. For those in the Eastern Time zone, the eclipse will enter continental North America shortly after 14:00 EDT (19:00 BST), and exit at 15:46.

The path of totality, where you can see 100% of the eclipse, starts at around 11:07 local time (14:04 ET) in Mazatlán, Mexico, on the Pacific coast.

It will then move northeast, over Texas, the southern parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois, before making its way to Ohio and along the US-Canada border. The path will end in the Canadian Atlantic province of Newfoundland.

We'll be making sure everything you need to know is here on this page, and you'll also be able to follow it all live in text and video, so keep those glasses handy and settle in for what promises to be a special day.

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent

Nasa will be doing a number of experiments, such as launching rockets into the shadow cast by the Moon and sending instrumented jet planes to chase the shadow.

"The reason that we're flying aeroplanes, besides the fact that it's really cool, is because getting up high into the atmosphere means you can actually access wavelengths of light you can't do from the ground," said Dr Amir Caspi from the Southwest Research Institute.

You might think that with all the space telescopes trained on the Sun these days that there's very little an eclipse can add to the sum of solar knowledge.

But total eclipses are special because they afford favourable conditions to study the tenuous outer atmosphere of the Sun - its corona.

The corona is outshone by the Sun's surface, its photosphere. Satellites will block out the glare using devices called coronagraphs, but those are usually so wide that they also obstruct the view of light immediately above the edge of the star. It's in this zone where the corona's key processes are occurring.

Only during an eclipse, when the Moon's disc just matches that of the Sun, do all aspects of the corona become accessible.

• You can read more about the eclipse here