NASA shared live with the world the route of the phenomenon through North America

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) made a special live broadcast of the path of totalitythe technical phrase that describes the places where the total solar eclipse that occurred at noon this Monday over North America was visible.

GALLERY: “Ecstatic!” total solar eclipse

At 11 in the morning the transmission of Total solar eclipse of 2024: Through the eyes of NASA on the institution’s YouTube channel, whose inaugural point was the Mexican city of Mazatlán, when, around 12:07 p.m., it was the first place on land where total darkness caused surprise, joy and stupefaction in the spectators at the imposing astronomical phenomenon.

In addition to the coastal city, the vision was repeated in the Mexican cities of Durango, Nazas, Monclova, Piedras Negras and Torreón, and later occurred in a strip of the surface of the United States.

Science and emotion came together in the accompaniment carried out by NASA, nourished by dozens of scientific disseminators, specialists and astronauts, as well as some figures from cinema and sports, and children who asked questions to the participants of the coverage, which had a duration of just over three hours.

The total eclipse was visible in Rousellville, Arkansas; Kerville and Dallas, in Texas; Carbondale, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Houlton, Maine and Niagara Falls, New York, among other cities. In the transmission, the almost stellar coincidence was made clear that at a point near Carbondale it was possible to observe in 2017 an astronomical phenomenon similar to the one that occurred yesterday.

The NASA broadcast ended in Maine, but the path of totality It also touched places in Western Canada, such as Leamington, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Kingston, Quebec, Montreal, Fredericton, Summerside and ending in Gander. The Canadian public television station CBC focused on these places.

The wonder of the people in charge of the comments on the broadcast was clear.

Knowing what was going to happen, they expressed again and again their admiration at the sidereal alignment they were witnessing. They described the vision of sagrada, incredible y historical experienceand they highlighted the fortune of witnessing it. I love my job, said a commentator when seeing the solar occultation for the seventh time. There was a sensation attributable to the collective unconscious, of that kind of archetype in which daily cycles are subverted: day turned into night in more than a dozen cities that were the center of NASA’s attention during the twilight journey. total through Mexico, the United States and Canada. The solar occultation lasted approximately four minutes at each observation point.

The hosts of the broadcast, which had more than 10 million views, drew attention to three aspects that are observed during the peak of the eclipse: the Diamond ring (when an edge of the Moon’s outline allows a cluster of sunlight to pass through), the solar corona (characterized by the luminous outline around the surface of the Earth’s satellite) and the small luminous excrescences visible beyond the lunar edges.

Some of the scientists interviewed for this program said that experiments are being carried out related to the impact of gravity on the Earth’s climate and atmosphere, as well as on satellites and devices that will probably be sent to Mars.

They mentioned that during the sidereal phenomenon, research was carried out on the effects of the Sun on the temperature and density of the Earth’s atmosphere. To do this, a plane will fly near the path of the shadow produced by the Moon; Rockets and hot air balloons for climatological research will also be launched.

Dr. Ashley Greeley, from the US space agency, explained that the Sun has cycles, and that at this moment it is among one of the points of greatest activity. These changes, she continued, affect life on Earth.

From the International Space Station they told about some of the experiments they carry out along the same line. There, Jeanette Epps said that some are about gravity waves and the way they impact the Earth’s climate and navigation systems.

In the field of research around this historical event, specialists reported that studies are being carried out on radio communication and solar interference.

Almost at the end of the broadcast, Navajo astronomer David Begay was interviewed about his people’s knowledge of solar events.

A surprising image released by NASA was a view of Earth from the International Space Station, where a circle of shadow produced by the cosmic event is seen over the western edge of the United States and Canada.