Solar eclipse 2024

This article will provide fascinating facts about the 2024 total solar eclipse, which raced up through Mexico, trekked through the USA from Texas to Maine and finished out its land journey by dashing through the eastern tip of Canada.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, the Moon and Earth are aligned, or in syzygy. The Moon, directly between the Sun and Earth, casts a shadow on our planet. If you are in the dark part of that shadow (the umbra), you will see a total eclipse. If you are in the light part (the penumbra), you will see a partial eclipse. The Moon has to be between the Sun and Earth for a solar eclipse to occur. The only lunar phase when that happens is the new moon.

The reason the total phases of solar eclipses vary in time is because Earth is not always at the same distance from the Sun, and the Moon is not always the same distance from Earth.

Astronomers categorise each solar eclipse in terms of its magnitude and obscuration. The magnitude of a solar eclipse is the percentage of the Sun’s diameter that the Moon covers during maximum eclipse. Everyone in the continental USA saw at least a partial eclipse. In order to be the first person to experience totality in the continental USA, you needed to be at the Mexican border in Las Quintas Fronterizas, Texas, at 1:27:21 pm central daylight time (CDT). There, the total phase lasted 4 minutes 22 seconds. The path of the 8 April 2024 total solar eclipse began in the USA in Texas and ended in Maine.

Totality lasted a maximum of 4 minutes 
28 seconds. Solar eclipses are so captivating, they always seem to only last a few brief seconds. It was projected that this eclipse would be the most viewed ever. Unlike the 2017 eclipse, which covered only one large city, Nashville, the 2024 event plunged several major metropolitan centres into darkness. Many sat completely along the path, while others had a large percentage of their areas covered. Among them were: Mazatlán, Mexico; and San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas. During the time the Moon’s disc covers that of the Sun, and only then, it is safe to look at the eclipse without a solar filter or eclipse glasses. In fact, to experience the awesomeness of the event, you must look at the Sun without a filter during totality.

One of the great things about the total phase of a solar eclipse is that it looks amazing to naked eyes. The sight of the corona surrounding the Moon’s black disc in a darkened sky is unforgettable. That said, binoculars at relatively low power still give you a close-up view.The next total solar eclipse over the continental USA requires a 20-year wait until 23 August 2044. That one will be visible only in Montana and North Dakota. Great total solar eclipses follow in 2045 and 2078. These events have maximum totalities of 6 minutes 6 seconds and 5 minutes 40 seconds, respectively.Astronomers, whether professional or amateur, are familiar with the uncertainty and limited visibility of some celestial events. Comets may appear bright if their compositions are just so. Meteor showers might reach storm levels if we pass through a thick part of the stream. A supernova as bright as a whole galaxy is visible now, but you need a telescope that can spot it. In contrast, the 2024 total solar eclipse occurred on the predicted period – and in the daytime, no less.

Information about the eclipse is extracted from ‘Brush up on your eclipse basics before the big day’, by Michael E Bakich. Published: 20 March 2024.