The moon will completely obscure the sun for millions of people in North America along a path starting from Mexico to the United States and then Canada in a total solar eclipse that will occur on April 8.
Below is an explanation of the solar eclipse and where it will occur.
What is a total solar eclipse?
In a total solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, covering the entire surface of the Sun along a small path from the surface of our planet. This is called the “path of the eclipse” or the path of the moon’s shadow. During the day the sky turns dark as sunset or dawn and nocturnal animals are known to wake up confused and think that night has arrived.
In places along the path of the total eclipse, people will be able to see the sun’s corona, the star’s outer atmosphere, which is usually invisible due to the sun’s brightness. People observing from outside the path of the total eclipse will see a partial eclipse in which the moon obscures most of the sun’s face, but not all of it.
A cloudy day may spoil the scene, especially since after this eclipse, the next total solar eclipse that can be seen from the United States will not occur until 2044.
Where will it happen and what is its trajectory?
According to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the eclipse will begin on April 8 over the South Pacific Ocean, and its path will reach the Pacific coast of Mexico at approximately 11:07 am Pacific time before entering the United States in Texas.
Its path then passes through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, a very small part of Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and a small portion of Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
The path then enters Canada in Ontario and travels through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton, and exits from continental North America on the coast of Newfoundland on the Atlantic Ocean in Canada, at 5:16 pm Newfoundland time. The partial eclipse is scheduled to be visible to people in all forty-eight contiguous US states.
How is this different from an annular solar eclipse?
On October 14, 2023, people along the Pacific Northwest route through Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Brazil will witness an annular solar eclipse, a slightly different event. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth when the Moon is at or near its farthest point from our planet. Therefore, it does not completely cover the sun, leaving what looks like a “ring of fire” in the sky.
How can you watch the eclipse safely?
Experts warn that it is unsafe to look directly into the bright sun without using specialized eye protection designed for looking toward the sun’s rays. According to these experts, viewing the eclipse through a camera lens, binoculars or telescope without using a special solar filter can cause serious eye injury.
They recommend using safe sunglasses or safe hand-held sunglasses, noting that regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the sun. The only moment when eye protection can be safely removed is during a total solar eclipse which is the brief time during which the Moon completely obscures the Sun’s surface.
How big are the Earth, Moon and Sun?
For those looking from Earth, the Moon will only cover the face of the Sun, because the Moon is actually much smaller than the Sun but much closer to our planet. The diameter of the Moon is 3,476 km, compared to the diameter of the Sun, which is about 1.4 million km, and the diameter of the Earth is 12,742 km.
How does a solar eclipse differ from a lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth lies between the Moon and the Sun and our planet’s shadow covers the Moon’s surface. This makes the moon appear dark from Earth, and sometimes a reddish color. A lunar eclipse can be seen from half of the Earth, which is a much wider area than a solar eclipse.
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2024-01-26 23:39:03
