“I’ve always been interested in this and go out of my way to see it,” said Blackaby, curator of the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot,

The moon covered a slightly higher percentage of the sun in Bismarck than in Minot where it was around 80 percent.

Blackaby said he followed the eclipse from its beginning to end. The eclipse started shortly after 11:30 p.m. and ended after 2 p.m. The eclipse at Bismarck lasted more than two and a half hours.

“It was quite spectacular because you could see the crescent and see the crescent grow.”

Submitted Photo The moon blocked out the sun during Monday’s eclipse and many little crescents could be seen on the ground at Minot’s Roosevelt Park. This photo was taken at 12:42 p.m. under the greenery arch in the park along the sidewalk leading up to the Teddy Roosevelt statue.

He said when the light went through the trees and if a sidewalk was nearby, a person could see the crescent in the sidewalk.

He said it didn’t get dark but he could see a slight change. Others he talked to while in Bismarck said they felt the same. He did notice lights came on in a parking lot.

While everyone in North America had the chance to see a partial eclipse, a total eclipse crossed a path from the West Coast to the East Coast, giving the event the name the “Great American Eclipse.”

Reports of unusual animal reactions to the eclipse date back centuries or that an eclipse can confuse animals. Experts said animals react to eclipses the same way they react to night.

Since the eclipse at Minot was a partial eclipse with the moon covering about 80 percent of the sun, officials did not notice any changes in the inhabitants at Roosevelt Park Zoo.

“The animals did not show any reaction to the eclipse,” said Jennifer Kleen, Minot Zoo Crew executive director.

Zoo personnel noticed they could see many little crescents showing on the grounds of the zoo as the moon made its way crossing over the sun during the eclipse.