Solar Eclipse 2024

By Aubrey Andrade

 On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk. This only happens occasionally, when the Moon doesn’t orbit in the same plane as the Sun and Earth. 

You should always use eclipse glasses or an alternative safe solar viewing method to view the Sun during a total solar eclipse. There are two to five solar eclipses yearly, with a total eclipse occurring every 18 months. As the Earth rotates, the Moon’s shadow on Earth travels from west to east. Some upcoming solar eclipses are the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse visible across parts of North America, the March 29, 2025, visible from northwest Africa, the UK, Europe, and northern Russia, and the August 12, 2026, visible from the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, Atlantic Ocean, and northern Spain. 

Solar eclipses only take place during a new Moon phase. That’s because during a solar eclipse, the Sun is behind the Moon, lighting up the side we can’t see. The Earth and Moon are always moving, so these eclipses are only temporary events. However, the longest total solar eclipse in history was on July 11, 1991, and lasted six minutes and 53 seconds. 

There are four types of solar eclipses and they are total, annular, partial, and hybrid eclipse. An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, at or near its farthest point from the Earth. When the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the Sun. A partial solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth but the Sun, Moon, and Earth are not perfectly lined up. Parts of the Sun will appear covered, giving it a crescent appearance. Earth's surface is curved, so an eclipse can shift between annular and total as the Moon’s shadow moves across the globes. This event is called a hybrid solar eclipse.

Want to know some fun facts about eclipses? Total solar eclipses cannot be seen from North and South Poles. Almost identical solar eclipses happen every 18 years and 11 months. If any planets are in the sky at the same time as a total solar eclipse, they can be seen as points of light. The August 21st event was the first total solar eclipse in the continental U.S. in 38 years. The last one occurred on February 26, 1979. How does a solar eclipse affect us? The sudden changes in ionospheric conditions during an eclipse can lead to the formation of ionospheric anomalies, such as ionospheric holes or depletions. Solar eclipses allow scientists to see a part of the Sun’s atmosphere, the corona. The corona means a crown, during the eclipse it becomes visible, and streaming plasma leaving the sun appears in amazing patterns. The Sun's corona is the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere that is usually hidden by the bright light of the Sun’s surface.