The Earth, moon and sun will align for a total eclipse in some areas of the world Monday, April 8. Californians will see a partial eclipse of about 50%.If you miss the total eclipse this time, you’ll have to wait two decades for your next chance in North America.
The path of the total eclipse will start in Texas and end in Maine. It will last approximately from 11:27 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. Pacific time. In the path of the moon’s shadow, the maximum duration of totality will be 4 minutes, 28 seconds.
It will be about 50% of an eclipse in Southern California.
Is the path map wrong?
It’s been widely reported that the eclipse path maps are wrong, which is true, but the difference is only slight, and it won’t matter unless you’re heading to see the total solar eclipse.
You can learn more about the difference in the maps here.
You can zoom in on the new map here.
The first known records of humans seeing an eclipse date back more than 3,000 years, but people did not begin to understand that the Earth revolved around the sun until the 1600s.
The fact that NASA has predicted the time, duration and exact path of this eclipse shows some of the regularity of the universe that we have come to understand.
Astronomers have predicted other total eclipses for the next 100 years, with the next total solar eclipse visible in the contiguous U.S. on Aug. 23, 2044. The 2044 eclipse will be visible in Northern Montana for about 2 minutes.
In 2045, There will be a 6-minute total solar eclipse visible on Aug. 12, and it will be visible across the U.S. from Reno to Florida. It’s being called the “Greatest American Eclipse.”
You can visit NASA.gov for livestream coverage on April 8.
Via satellite
When you hear the word satellite, it might conjure images of high-tech space gadgets, but the moon is Earth’s only natural satellite.
After April 8, the next total eclipse will be a lunar eclipse on March 14, 2025.
The first artificial satellite was put into orbit in 1957 by the Soviet Union, and there are an estimated 9,494 active satellites in orbit.
Our moon is the fifth-largest in the solar system.
Moons of other planets
Mars: 2
Jupiter: 66
Saturn: 62
Uranus: 27
Neptune: 13
Star of the show
Our sun is one of more than 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Here are some other things to consider while our attention is turned to it:
The light you are seeing from the sun takes about 8 minutes, 20 seconds to travel to Earth.
In two hours the average solar flare releases enough energy to power the U.S. for 10,000 years.
The sun rotates on its axis approximately once every 27 Earth days.
During a single second, the sun converts 4 million tons of matter into pure energy.
Protect your eyes
Never look directly at the sun. The safest way to observe the eclipse is making a pin hole in a piece of paper and watching the shadow on the ground.
Here’s a link to NASA’s eye safety for eclipse viewing tips.
If you haven’t purchased eclipse viewers yet, we suggest manufacturers or vendors that have been approved by the American Astronomical Society or International Organization for Standardization. Looking at the sun with substandard glasses may cause permanent damage to your eyes.
Sources: NASA, Spaceweather.com, Space.com, NOAA, Griffith Observatory, besselianelements.com, earthsky.org
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