Things are going to get a little weird on April 8, when a total solar eclipse will darken the skies over North America. The moon will line up perfectly to block the face of the sun. Temperatures will drop about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius). Birdsong will change from daytime to nighttime. Millions of people are expected to take to the road to witness the spectacle.
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What happened? What will I see?
“The Moon’s disk is positioned exactly right away from the Sun’s disk that completely covers it. When that happens, magic happens,” said Patrick Koehn, NASA’s director of heliophysics research and analysis. edge In an interview last October, about a big year in heliophysics, or the study of the sun and its impact on Earth and the solar system.
“When that happens, magic happens.”
In the path of totality, where a total solar eclipse is visible on Earth, daylight will briefly look like dawn or dusk, with light levels almost as dark as night.
Equally ingenious, this also happens to be the only time us earthly mortals see the Sun’s outer atmosphere with our naked eyes. Cohen described it as a thin layer of high-velocity gas coming from the sun. At all other times, the Sun’s own brightness obscures the corona from our view.
“This is one of those things — I wouldn’t call it a once in a lifetime, but maybe twice in a lifetime opportunity to see something like this,” Cohen said.
An even rarer solar eclipse occurs in October – the so-called “Ring of Fire.” This occurs when the Moon is at or near the farthest point in its orbit from Earth. This distance makes the moon appear smaller, so much so that it partially blocks the sun’s surface and leaves what looks like a ring of fire.
On April 8, the moon will be close enough to Earth to completely block the sun. After next week, and for the next two decades, there won’t be another total solar eclipse in the continental United States until August 23, 2044. The last time something like this happened was on August 21, 2017. But the path of the total solar eclipse is long and narrow, meaning more people should be able to see the upcoming total solar eclipse.
This time, the moon will be closer to Earth than last time, creating a wider path of totality that covers more densely populated areas. Next week, the road will be 108 to 122 miles wide, allowing some 31.6 million people to see from where they live. By comparison, in 2017, about 12 million people lived within the path of totality, which was 62 to 71 miles wide.
When and where can the solar eclipse be seen?
This particular eclipse will begin in the South Pacific before arriving in Mazatlan, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, around 11:07 a.m. PT. From there, it will continue across the country and then into the United States, taking a diagonal path through 15 states, from Texas to Maine. It will pass through Canada east of the Great Lakes, with its final stop being the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland before leaving the mainland in the Northern Territory at 5:16 p.m.
NASA has a helpful “Eclipse Explorer” mapping tool and has more information on its website about when a total solar eclipse will be visible from different locations. People in some areas outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial eclipse, and Eclipse Explorer explains why. Weather also plays a role, and unfortunately, clouds may take away some good views, even if they are in the path of totality. New York Times There is a forecast tool to see what cloud cover will be in your area during the eclipse.
No matter where you look at it, you’ll see that it occurs in stages, from a partial eclipse to a total eclipse when the moon completely blocks the sun. The total eclipse lasted a maximum of 4 minutes and 28 seconds, with the longest duration occurring in the Torreon region of Mexico, with other locations lasting between 3.5 and 4 minutes.
What safety precautions should I take?
Be aware, Cohen tells us, that looking directly at the sun can burn your retinas “very severely and almost immediately.” A total eclipse, those few minutes when the sun is completely obscured by the moon, is the only time when the risk disappears. NASA says that during this brief pause, viewers will be able to view the eclipse without any special goggles. But — and this is a big but — protection before and immediately after a total solar eclipse is necessary, because viewing a partial eclipse can still damage your eyes.
Heed these wise words from NASA:
Even during parts of the eclipse, when 99% of the sun’s surface (photosphere) is obscured, the remaining crescent sun is still strong enough to cause retinal burns. Note that there are no pain receptors in the retina, so your retina may be damaged before you realize it, and by then it may be too late to save your vision!
Another important warning: sunglasses won’t help. They even put you at greater risk because they make your pupils larger, allowing in more damaging solar radiation. You’ll need specially designed eclipse glasses to view a partial eclipse. The American Astronomical Society has a list of reliable suppliers. Notably, it doesn’t recommend buying the cheapest glasses from online marketplaces like Amazon. The American Astronomical Society says it’s a good idea to make sure the seller is on its list of reliable suppliers before buying online.
As an alternative, you can make a makeshift pinhole camera at home using paper or cardstock, tape, and aluminum foil (NASA has instructions online).
Where can I watch the solar eclipse online?
NASA will broadcast the event live starting at 1 p.m. ET. You can watch it on the agency’s website or on the NASA Plus streaming service. There will also be Spanish-language coverage on YouTube.