Current:Home > FinanceThe real April 2024 total solar eclipse happens inside the path of totality. What is that?-LoTradeCoin
The real April 2024 total solar eclipse happens inside the path of totality. What is that?
View Date:2024-12-23 22:44:20
As the April 2024 total solar eclipse approaches, you may have heard folks talking about the "path of totality." But what is it, exactly? And what is totality?
First, some background: The April 8, 2024, eclipse will be a total solar eclipse, according to NASA. It will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the lower 48 states until 2044.
But what's key is that "only in the path will you see what's special about this eclipse — totality," Rick Fienberg of the American Astronomical Society told Space.com.
What is totality?
Totality is when the moon totally blocks the sun during a total solar eclipse.
What is the path of totality?
The path of totality is the area where people on Earth can see the moon completely cover the sun as the moon's shadow falls upon them. Space.com describes it as "the cone-shaped inner (umbral) shadow of the moon projected onto the Earth's surface."
Solar eclipse warnings pile up:Watch out for danger in the sky, on the ground on April 8
To view all of the stages of a total solar eclipse, you must watch it from somewhere along that path of totality, NASA said. Viewers outside this narrow, roughly 115-mile wide path will only see a partial eclipse of the sun.
Total solar eclipses are visible every 400 years from any one place, the Solar Observatory said.
Where is the path of totality in the US?
The path in the U.S. extends along a narrow stretch of land from Texas to Maine.
Not every place along the path of totality will provide the same viewing experience, in part because of cloud cover. Here's an early look at what areas are usually the most and least cloudy:
What happens during totality?
The sky will darken, as if it were dawn or dusk. "You may be able to see a 360-degree sunset. You may also be able to see some particularly bright stars or planets in the darkened sky. The air temperature will drop and often an eerie silence will settle around you," NASA said.
People along the path of totality will be able to see the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which is usually obscured by the bright face of the sun.
And also this important reminder: Eclipse glasses are required for the eclipse if you're looking at it from outside the path of totality. Inside the path, you need the glasses for the moments before and after totality, when the moon is not totally blocking the sun.
veryGood! (882)
Related
- When do new episodes of 'Cobra Kai' Season 6 come out? Release date, cast, where to watch
- Deion Sanders saddened after latest Colorado loss: 'Toughest stretch of probably my life'
- Fox News and others lied about the 2020 election being stolen. Is cable news broken?
- From soccer infamy to Xbox 'therapy,' what's real and what's not in 'Next Goal Wins'
- Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation
- Man fatally shot while hunting in western New York state
- House Republicans to release most of Jan. 6 footage
- NCAA president offers up solution to sign-stealing in wake of Michigan football scandal
- Question of a lifetime: Families prepare to confront 9/11 masterminds
- L.L. Bean CEO Stephen Smith answers questions about jelly beans
Ranking
- MLS Star Marco Angulo Dead at 22 One Month After Car Crash
- Appalachian State ends unbeaten run by James Madison 26-23 in overtime
- Michigan makes college football history in win over Maryland
- Residents of Iceland town evacuated over volcano told it will be months before they can go home
- November 2024 full moon this week is a super moon and the beaver moon
- One woman's controversial fight to make America accept drug users for who they are
- Russian drones target Kyiv as UK Defense Ministry says little chance of front-line change
- 'The Crown' Season 6: When does Part 2 come out? Release date, cast, how to watch
Recommendation
-
Oprah Winfrey Addresses Claim She Was Paid $1 Million by Kamala Harris' Campaign
-
Investigators found fire and safety hazards on land under I-10 in Los Angeles before arson fire
-
Why Americans feel gloomy about the economy despite falling inflation and low unemployment
-
Kaitlin Armstrong, convicted of killing pro cyclist Mo Wilson, sentenced to 90 years in prison
-
Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul VIP fight package costs a whopping $2M. Here's who bought it.
-
'Hunger Games' burning questions: What happened in the end? Why was 'Ballad' salute cut?
-
Is college still worth it? What to consider to make the most of higher education.
-
'Wait Wait' for November 18, 2023: Live from Maine!