A photographer from St Albans raced across the USA to see the solar eclipse.

Herts Advertiser: A photo of the solar eclipse taken by Craig Shepheard.A photo of the solar eclipse taken by Craig Shepheard. (Image: Archant)

Craig Shepheard and his son Toby flew to Chicago, then travelled along Route 66 to St Louis.

The two then went to Carbondale in Illinois, along with 100,000 others, one of the only places on Earth that will see two solar eclipses.

The first was yesterday, and the second will be in seven years time.

Craig said: “We will come back in seven years to watch it all again.”

The reason Carbondale gets to see two eclipses is because this eclipse and another in 2024 will overlap over Carbondale and the surrounding areas.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and the Earth during its orbit of our planet.

Yesterday’s was a total solar eclipse, as witnessed in Britain in 1999.

The next of that sort which can be seen in Britain will be in September 2090.

People in the Shetlands will be able to see a partial eclipse in August 2018.