Things will get a little crazy on April 8, when a total solar eclipse will darken the skies over North America. The Moon will align perfectly to block the face of the Sun. Temperatures will drop about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius). the song of the Birds change from daytime to nighttime melodies. AND millions of people Visitors are expected to hit the road to see the spectacle.
The edge has your guide on how to get in on the fun.
What exactly is happening? And what will I see?
“The disk of the Moon is in just the right place, at just the right distance to completely cover the disk of the Sun. And when that happens, magic happens,” said NASA heliophysics research and analysis leader Patrick Koehn. The edge in an interview last October about what has become a Great year for heliophysics, or the study of the Sun and its influence on Earth and the solar system.
“When that happens, magic happens.”
Within the path of totality, also known as the places where the total eclipse will be visible on Earth, the day will briefly appear like dawn or dusk, with light levels almost as dark as night.
Just as interesting is that this is also the only time the Sun's outer atmosphere is visible to the naked eye to us mere mortals on Earth. Koehn describes it as a faint layer of high-speed gas streaming out from the Sun. At the rest of the time, the Sun's own brightness obscures this corona from our vision.
“This is one of those opportunities; I'll call it not once in a lifetime, but maybe twice in a lifetime to see something like this,” Koehn says.
An even rarer type of eclipse occurred in October: the so-called “ring of fire.” That's what happens when the Moon passes in front of the Sun while it is at or near its farthest point from Earth's orbit. The distance makes the Moon appear smaller, so it partially blocks the face of the Sun and leaves behind what looks like a ring of fire.
On April 8, the Moon will be close enough to Earth to completely obscure the Sun. After next week, there won't be another total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States for two decades, until August 23 2044. The last time something like this happened here was on August 21, 2017. But the path of totality was much longer. narrower thenwhich means many more people should be able to see the next total eclipse.
This time, the Moon will be closer to Earth than last time, creating a broader path of totality that encompasses more densely populated areas. That road will be between 108 and 122 miles wide next week, giving about 31.6 million people a view from where they live. That compares to about 12 million people living within the 62- to 71-mile-wide path of totality in 2017.
Where and when can I see the eclipse?
This particular eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean before coming ashore in Mazatlán, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, around 11:07 am (Pacific Time). From there, it will continue its path over the country before crossing into the US and tracing a diagonal path through 15 states from Texas to Maine. It will pass over Canada east of the Great Lakes, with its last stop on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland before leaving the continent at 5:16 pm NT.
NASA has a useful “eclipse explorer”map tool and more information on their website about when the total eclipse will be visible from one place to another. People in some regions outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial eclipse, as the Eclipse Explorer also explains. The weather will also come into play and, unfortunately, clouds could deprive some places of a good view, even if they are in the path of totality. The New York Times has a forecasting tool to see how much cloud cover there might be in your area during the eclipse.
Wherever you are while you watch it, you will see how it happens in stagesfrom a partial eclipse to a total eclipse when the Moon completely blocks the Sun. Totality lasts 4 minutes and 28 seconds at most, lasting longer in Torreón, Mexico, and ranging between 3.5 and 4 minutes in other locations.
What safety precautions should I take?
Be careful, you can burn your retina “quite and almost instantly” by looking directly at the Sun, Koehn tells us. Totality, those few minutes in which the Sun is completely blocked by the Moon, is the only time when the risk disappears. During this brief respite, NASA says viewers can watch the eclipse without any special eye protection. BUT, and this is a big but, protection is necessary immediately before and after the eclipse reaches totality because watching a partial eclipse can still damage your eyes.
Heed these wise words from NASA:
Even when 99% of the Sun's surface (the photosphere) is obscured during the partial phases of a solar eclipse, the remaining crescent Sun is still intense enough to cause a retinal burn. Keep in mind that there are no pain receptors in the retina, so your retina can be damaged before you even realize it, and by then it may be too late to save your vision!
Another important warning: sunglasses don't help. They can even put you at greater risk because they allow your pupils to enlarge, letting in more harmful solar radiation. You will need solar eclipse glasses specially designed for a partial eclipse. The American Astronomical Society has a list of reliable suppliers. In particular, he does NOT recommend buying the cheapest glasses on online marketplaces like amazon. It's best to make sure the seller is on your list of trusted suppliers before making an online purchase, says the American Astronomical Society.
Alternatively, you can also make a makeshift pinhole camera at home using paper or cardstock, tape, and aluminum foil (NASA has online instructions).
Where can I watch the solar eclipse online?
