Americans cheer as rare total solar eclipse marches across country

By Lee van der Voo and Harriet McLeod SHERIDAN, Oregon/CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - The moon blacked out the sun on Monday as the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the United States in nearly a century began over the West Coast, while millions of Americans looked skyward in wonder through protective glasses, telescopes and cameras. After weeks of anticipation, the sight of the moon's silhouette passing directly in front of the sun, blotting out all but a halo-like solar corona and causing a precipitous drop in temperature, drew whoops and cheers from onlookers gathered at Roshambo ArtFarm in Sheridan, Oregon. "It was incredible," said Cheryl Laroche, 57, who along with her husband, Rob, planned their eclipse trip for about a year.