A total solar eclipse is set to occur, providing a great view of the moon passing between the
Sun and our Earth.
And while there have been several solar eclipses that have been witnessed from the surface
of the planet in recent time, this upcoming cosmic occurrence, will be a real treat for
those in North America, with the solar eclipse providing a remarkable display of totality
in a narrow path from Mexico to the Canadian Maritimes.
While this event is still over a year away, it’s better to be prepared to take in this
extraterrestrial experience!
Watch till the end of this video to learn how to be as prepared as possible for the
upcoming Solar Eclipse!
Welcome to Space Infinity.
Total Solar Eclipse As celestial bodies, objects in space tend
to pass each other’s orbit, providing extremely interesting views when viewed from a relatively
distant area.
This is what occurs when an eclipse happens.
And while there are many instances that provide angles and views from different perspectives,
the penultimate scenario to witness is when a Total Solar Eclipse happens.
A total solar eclipse is the phenomenon when the moon appears to block the sun’s entire
disk in the sky, leading to the dimming and cooling for minutes at a time as the lunar
shadow sweeps across a portion of the Earth’s surface.
This display can be incredible to witness, and has been a mystifying occurrence that
have amazed civilizations for centuries.
Solar eclipses have been observed well throughout history, with many ancient eclipses recorded
from over 4,000 years ago.
In India, ancient Hindu mythology provides a graphic explanation of eclipses, which speaks
of the cunning demon Rahu who sought to drink the nectar of the gods to attain immortality.
His attempt to do so was thwarted by the great maintainer Vishnu, and as punishment, the
demon was beheaded, with his decapitated head flying across the sky, darkening the Sun during
an eclipse.
While the darkening of the Sun may have startled ancient civilizations to see them as bad omens
and a disruption of the natural order, we have gone well beyond myths to understand
it’s true foundations.
We can however, understand the fear and fascination of our ancestors, because after all, witnessing
the blocking of all direct sunlight, resulting to turning day into night, can indeed be mind-blowing.
Total solar eclipses are incredible to witness, with it being quite a chance occurrence in
cosmic geometry.
The moon, which orbits the Earth 239,000 miles or 385,000 kilometers away, has just the right
distance to appear the same size in the sky as the sun, despite being significantly larger
and much farther away, to create the illusion of the moon totally covering the sun’s orb,
while also dimming it’s path of sunlight totally.
The moon and the sun line up to create total solar eclipses only about once every 18 months,
with an average of two to five solar eclipses that occur each year.
These instances however, don’t always result in total eclipses.
It’s a good thing there’s an upcoming total solar eclipse set to cover it’s path
in total darkness, with a narrow path passing through Northern America that will surely
provide a mesmerizing experience that is literally the difference between night and day.
ECLIPSE AMERICA 2024 On April 8, 2024, North America is set to
be in for a real treat: a Total Solar Eclipse.
On this day, the Moon will totally blot out the Sun, and will provide lucky viewers along
a narrow strip of land that stretches from Central Mexico, across Texas, up through New
England, and into the Canadian Maritimes total darkness within that time.
Occurring one day after the perigee on April 7th, the Moon’s apparent diameter will be
larger than usual on the 8th, with its longest duration of totality being four minutes and
28.13 seconds over the town of Nazas, Durango, in Mexico and the nearby city of Torreon,
Coahuila acquiring the most optimal viewpoint.
There have been several total solar eclipses that have happened from 2019 to 2021, but
this event in April 2024 will be the first to pass through the United States since the
2017 Great American Solar Eclipse, the total solar eclipse that crossed the continental
United States from coast to coast on August 21, 2017.
That event had a 70-mile wide path of totality, with the Moon blocking out the Sun to turn
day into night for 2 minutes or so.
Prior to the 2017 total solar eclipse, the last time an event occurred like this, was
back in 1979, and prior to that year was 1918, making these occurrences remarkably rare,
and truly a sight to see within a lifetime.
At only 7 years after the last major total solar eclipse over the United States, this
time, the Moon’s dark central shadow, of about 114 miles wide, will run through Mexico,
from Sinaloa to Coahuila, the US, from Texas to Maine, and Canada, from Ontario to Newfoundland,
with nearly all of North America and a sliver of western Europe able to witness a partial
eclipse through this occurrence.
In the United States, totality will first appear in Texas, then Oklahoma, Arkansas,
and Missouri.
In Illinois, the town of Carbongale will witness their second total solar eclipse in seven
years, before totality will then proceed over the skies of Indiana, Ohio, New York, Vermont,
and Maine.
Lake Earie and Lake Ontario will also fall under the path of totality, including Niagara
Falls, with Canada also boasting plenty of best spots to view the occurrence from, as
the shadow’s path will sweep eastward to Newfoundland.
The Moon will block the Sun’s bright face, known as the Photosphere, to briefly reveal
our Sun’s outer atmosphere, the shimmering corona or the crown of the Sun.
Made of rarefied gas heated to millions of degrees, with its atoms highly ionized, or
stripped of electrons, the corona gets sculpted into streamers and loops by the Sun’s powerful
magnetic field, and shines with a light seen nowhere else.
This corona is always there, but we merely can’t see it because the photosphere is
about a million times brighter and drowns out the corona.
When the Moon cover’s the Sun’s bright face, it allows us to witness the corona which
becomes the main attraction.
There are much more to experience during this Total Solar Eclipse, such as at the beginning
and end of the totality, when the middle layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, or chromosphere,
blazes in an arc of ruby red.
The sky then darkens to a deep twilight blue, with yellow, orange and pink colors akin to
sunrise or sunset over the horizon in all directions.
This is the time when bright stars and planets shine forth, and the air temperature noticeably
drops.
At this time, birds and farm animals even assume that dusk has settled, and return to
their nests and barns, with bats coming out to feed thinking that the darkness of night
has arrived.
Outside the path of totality, which is nearly all of North America, viewers can witness
a partial solar eclipse, when it gets no darker than on a cloudy day with daylight fading
by a factor of nearly 10,000.
Depending on your location within the path of totality, the ethereal corona will be visible
for up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds, with the 360-degree sunset and the collective awe expected
across the continent set to be prevalent and already providing many reasons for scientists
and sky watchers to be excited for the 2024 total solar eclipse.
Total Solar Eclipse Preparations!
Viewing a total solar eclipse can be a once in a lifetime occurrence, and can be a remarkable
experience!
Anyone planning to view the 2024 total solar eclipse should be somewhat prepared, to make
it the most memorable time.
The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse will occur on Monday, with plenty of cities along its path
conducting related activities on Saturday and Sunday, so you can plan on making it a
weekend mini-vacation.
You can attend special goings-on at the many planetariums and science centers, with local
astronomy clubs providing you a chance to get involved.
It’s best to stay flexible on eclipse day, so you can set up well ahead for unexpected
situations.
Most of all, if you plan to view the eclipse in its entirety, you should get a pair of
solar viewing glasses.
Using these extra-protective shades allow observes to look directly at the sun before
and after totality.
As the total solar eclipse approaches, there will be a gradual dimming of the sky, which
can be more noticeable when wearing protective eyewear.
It is only during the total phase of a total eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the
Sun’s bright face, when it is considered safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized
eye protection for solar viewing, to avoid severe eye injury.
During these few minutes of totality, spectators can remove their protective eyewear to witness
at the ethereal halo of the sun’s corona in full awe.
Take this moment as a chance to also remark on the stars and planets shining in the dim
sky, or to keep an eye out for lunar mountains and solar flares which may be visible at the
moon’s edges.
It’s important to note that the next total solar eclipse visible from the US after the
2024 eclipse will occur in 2044, so make sure you witness this one so you won’t need to
wait another 20 years!
You wont regret it.