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A composite time sequence of the “Great American Eclipse” on August 21, 2017. We are now exactly … [+]
Universal Image Group via Getty Images
Have you ever seen a dramatic total solar eclipse? One occurs today, Monday, December 14, 2020, in South America, but by sheer coincidence today also marks the midpoint between two identical eclipses that are jaw-dropping and visible to those in North America.
The first was the “Great American Eclipse”. There was a total solar eclipse in the US on August 21, 2017, visible from a “path of totality” that stretches from a sea to a bright sea.
Around 215 million Americans are believed to have watched the 2017 event in some way, though most only saw one partial solar eclipse – not a very interesting sideshow, relatively speaking. Only about 12 million experienced a staggering total solar eclipse from the narrow path of totality.
Onlookers were dumbfounded by the drop in temperatures, the accumulated darkness, the exquisite “diamond rings” around the Moon and a flash of the white sun. crown—The outer atmosphere of the Sun— spills out into space.
Everyone needs to experience wholeness, nature at its most beautiful, dramatic, and addictive, and while there are total solar eclipses in Antarctica in 2021 and Western Australia in 2023, there is another opportunity for those in North America.
After decades of drought, North America is now in a golden age of solar eclipses.
Exactly six years, 7 months and 18 days after the “Great Eclipse of America” comes the “Great Eclipse of North America” when, on April 8, 2024, the shadow of the Moon will hit Mexico, the United States and Canada, with a maximum of 4 minutes 28 seconds total.
During the “Great American Eclipse” of 2017 it was possible to experience a maximum of 2 minutes and 40 seconds of totality. In 2024, the “path of totality,” the moon’s shadow, is much wider by about 100 miles.
Aside from being longer than the entirety in 2017, it could also be a more dramatic sight.
“We will approach solar maximum in 2024, so we expect to see streamers around the solar corona during that eclipse,” said Jay Pasachoff, professor of astronomy at Williams College, Massachusetts, who has witnessed 35 total solar eclipses and 72 eclipses. lots of all kinds. “But each part of the solar cycle is interesting in its own way.”
The darkness of day will come to Sinaloa, Durango and Coahuila in Mexico, and in the United States to Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire. and Maine. In Canada, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland in Canada will also experience totality.
This is going to be great, but do people already know? “If it follows the same pattern as the eclipse in 2017, a year before interest explodes as news articles publish it, and after that there will be exponential growth in interest,” said Dan McGlaun, who runs Eclipse2024. .org and has developed an incredible eclipse simulator of exactly what the observer will see in 40,000 towns and cities on April 8, 2024.
“People need to know if they will see the eclipse, exactly what they will see and how they can look at it without going blind,” McGlaun said.
It’s true that the 2024 total solar eclipse will be seen by far more people than the 2017 total solar eclipse, and for two reasons. “32 million Americans live within the path of the 2024 eclipse compared to just 12 million Americans on the path of 2017,” Zeiler said. “A notable circumstance of this eclipse is that the densely populated northeastern metropolitan areas of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago, St. Louis are within a two to three hour drive of totality.”
However, accessibility is one thing. Familiarity is the other. “The 2017 eclipse left a lasting impression on the millions who saw it and piqued the interest of their friends and family who heard about it,” said Michael Zeiler, eclipse cartographer who runs GreatAmericanEclipse.com.
“We have a hundred million new eclipse veterans,” McGlaun said. The 2024 eclipse could be seen by 50 million people.
So where should April 8, 2024 be? That depends on the weather predictions for the eclipse. “The 2017 eclipse was in August and we were lucky to have pretty good weather over most of the country, but in 2024 the eclipse is in April and the weather is uncertain in the Midwest and New England,” Pasachoff said. .
It’s a shame because there are so many cities in the path of the eclipse in that part of the US “Going further northeast, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo and Burlington are well positioned for a reasonably long total eclipse duration, but the weather outlook for the Great Lakes and New England they are less than desirable, ”Zeiler said. “Given the odds of the weather, Mexico and Texas will be the magnet for millions of intelligent eclipse chasers.”
People seen watching the total solar eclipse over the city of Prineville in Oregon during 2017 … [+]
LightRocket via Getty Images
Texas will be busy, but attention is needed. “San Antonio and Austin are technically within total eclipse path, but Texans would be advised to drive an hour or so north or west to be more than 4 minutes within the Moon’s shadow,” Zeiler said. .
“The Southwest is the best,” agreed McGlaun. “If I didn’t live on the road then I’d head to Texas because of its superior weather forecast, but do I live on the road and I want to experience an eclipse at my house. If that means it might not be perfect weather, the eclipse will still be perfect because I’ll be home. ”
There are other special places to consider. “Niagara Falls would be a great place to see an eclipse, but there really needs to be a ‘diamond ring’ event at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, which is down the road – it’s a great place to visit because if you find a diamond, you can keep it! ”
One of the main attractions of seeing the Moon totally outshine the Sun is the brief “diamond rings” just before and after totality when the last drops of sunlight shine through the valleys of the Moon.
Cities in the US that will experience totality on April 8, 2024 during the next North American total … [+]
Michael Zeiler / GreatAmericanEclipse.com (used with permission)
“The cities that have a prime location in 2024 are Mazatlán, Durango, Torreón, Eagle Pass and Dallas,” Zeiler said, but he is mainly talking about cities with excellent climate prospects (after all, you need a clear sky to see an eclipsed Sun, although darkness in the day is guaranteed everywhere within the path of totality).
As such, Mazatlán’s Mexico has the best weather odds of all, though there’s a good chance for clear skies in Texas too. It will all come down to luck and judgment. “People in the American Midwest, the Northeast Corridor, and the Quebec and Montreal metropolitan areas can maximize their odds by analyzing weather forecasts in the days leading up to the eclipse,” said Zeiler. “Then travel with a caravan to go where it is most likely to have sunny skies during the eclipse.”
It may be a nervous few days early, but having a second total solar eclipse in seven years is a huge chunk of heavenly luck for North America (other minor solar eclipses are coming as well). Totality occurs approximately every 18 months somewhere on Earth. A specific place on the planet experiences totality on average once every 375 years or so. Not so for Carbondale, Illinois, the “Crossroads of Eclipses,” where the shadow paths of 2017 and 2024 intersect.
However, the passage of the 2024 eclipse will begin the countdown to another even longer totality 21 years later. “After 2024, a long-duration total solar eclipse crosses the United States again on August 12, 2045,” Zeiler said. “The eclipses of 2045 and 2024 intersect in Arkansas over the cities of Little Rock and Hot Springs.”
Can you stay alive until 2045? If you can, go to Florida to experience 6 minutes and 3 seconds of Disney World or 4 minutes and 24 seconds of Kennedy Space Center. “If I’m alive, I’ll be in my wheelchair at Disney World,” McGlaun said. The “Sunshine State” will have to change its name for the day.
Disclaimer: Jamie Carter is editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
