Three years from today, on Monday, April 8, 2024, more than half a billion people across North America could take a moment from their daily routine and look up to the sky to see one of the great shows of Nature: the eclipse of the sun
And those fortunate to get a position on a narrow path that stretches north of Mexico through parts of 15 US states will have the chance to arrive at what many call the most amazing sky roadshows – all solar eclipse.
Many readers will remember for sure. “The Great American Eclipse, 2017“The event has received a lot of media attention and is right, it is the first total eclipse of the Sun that can be seen from the adjacent United States (48) times since 1
979. First since 1918, from coast to coast and the first The total solar eclipse will be visible from the United States in the 21st century, and also for the first time in modern history the path of all numbers can be seen only from within the borders of the United States and no other country.Video: Total Solar Eclipse in April 2024 – See Path of Total
Related: Total solar eclipse 2024: here’s what you need to know.
Eclipse
It was an amazing experience. To everyone who saw it, the sky suddenly darkened suddenly to mid twilight, and hence the sudden appearance of stars and planets in the preceding one was the daytime sky.
There is, of course, the remarkable corona, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, visible only in those precious moments when the Sun is completely obscured by the moon. And in a few places around the moon’s dark limbs, the prominence – the pink tongue of glowing hydrogen gas was also evident. And when the first rays of the sun surpass the jagged edge of the moon, a “diamond ring” is briefly created, signaling that the “diamond ring” is the same. “The greatest show in the world” will come to an abrupt end.
But the best is yet to come for “The Great American Eclipse of 2017”: an even better eclipse is coming in 2024.
The “Great North American Solar Eclipse”, which begins in Mexico, crosses into Texas, then heads northeast into the Ohio River Valley, north of New York State, Quebec, Canada, and New England. It has finally left the continent through Canada’s Maritimes, and it’s not too early to start planning to see it!
Related: The most amazing photos of the total solar eclipse of 2017
Stand out among all eclipses
Since the Declaration of Independence was signed, the moon’s black shadow cone, called Umbra, where the total eclipse can be viewed has swept across parts of the lower 48 states, just 21 times the total duration of these eclipses. This ranged from just one second (April 28, 1930) to 5 minutes and 20 seconds (June 24, 1778). The average duration of the sum of twenty-one cases was 2 minutes and 12 seconds.
For the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse, the total duration was 2 minutes 40 seconds, almost half a minute longer than the U.S. average.
But on April 8, 2024, the maximum duration of the totals will be 4 minutes and 26 seconds (over Southwest Texas). 135 seconds longer Than the US average and 40 percent longer than The maximum duration of the eclipse 2017.
Related: The largest solar eclipse in US history
In fact, of the previous 21 total that swept across the contiguous United States boundary today, there are only two times superior to the 2024 eclipse in terms of the combined duration: the aforementioned 1778 eclipse and day eclipse. June 16, 1806 (4 minutes 52 seconds). This latter solar eclipse is famous for observing the Spanish astronomer José Joaquín de Ferrer, who was the first person to coin the word corona. “For the halo of light that surrounds the darkened sun during the total number, and by his storyteller James Fenimore Cooper. My own experience of witnessing this eclipse from Cooperstown, New York, in this short autobiographical article.
The total width of the 2024 eclipse will be unique as well: the shadow path for the previous 21 eclipses of the United States was approximately 93 miles (150 kilometers) wide. But by 2024, the total route will be much larger, measuring 124 miles (200 km).
A large audience!
Typically, the overall eclipse path most often has a perverse habit of clearing out distant parts of the Earth or into the vast oceans and avoiding large population centers. Otherwise, in 2024.
In Mexico, the cities of Mazatlán (503,000 populations), Durango (655,000 pop) and Torreon (735,000 pop) are included in the route. In the United States, the largest population center is Dallas, Texas (1.3 million pop), followed by Austin (pop 951,000), Indianapolis, Indiana (864,000 pop), Cleveland, Ohio (385,000 pop). Buffalo, New York (256,000 pop) and Rochester (207,000 pop).
And there are many other big cities such as San Antonio, Texas, St. Louis, Missouri, Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Columbus in Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Which is less than a few hours’ drive from the entire zone.
The largest city to witness the total eclipse will be in Canada: Montreal, Quebec (1.8 million pops).
Interestingly, over the Lower Ohio Valley, all the routes of 2017 and 2024 intersect, on average, a specific geographic location is treated for approximately one total solar eclipse every 375 years, but Carbondale, Illinois, which has Call yourself the city “Eclipse Crossroads”. – Will be exposed again in 2024, less than 7 years after experiencing 2017’s total eclipse!
Weather trends
According to Canadian meteorologist Jay Anderson, who has spent years researching the climate ahead of an impending solar eclipse: “April is the month of transcontinental change, with winter storms going to Gradually cause the turnover of spring and summer in Mexico, the winter dry season is in the final months before summer rains in the United States.The southern route has already entered thunderstorms, while in the north, spring storms and occasional snow remain. Probably indicating the departure of winter in Maritime Canada, the last snow of winter hasn’t melted and fresh snowfall is a threat to all weather systems. ”
The best probability of fine weather is in Mexico, where cloud coverage ranges from around 20%, with an increase to 50% at the Texas border. In contrast to these conditions, weather trends across the United States are modest, if seriously unfavorable. Climate records show that average cloud cover increased from about 50-60 percent in northeastern Texas to the Missouri-Illinois border, then nearly 80 percent on the Indiana-Ohio border near and Rimke. Great Lakes cloud cover dropped to about 60-65% before rising over 80% for North Quebec, New England and Maritime. You can get more details. At the Eclipsophile website here.
But even in the most pessimistic regions, one must remember the famous aphorism that only belongs to science fiction writer Robert Heinlein: “Climate is what you expect. But the weather is what you get! ”
Indeed, April weather in the United States and southern Canada is much more volatile than in Mexico, so in all locations there is hope for clear skies on the day of the eclipse.
And as that special day approaches, Space.com will provide detailed information for future eclipse chasers, so tick your calendar and stay tuned!
Joe Rao serves as Instructor and Guest Speaker at New York’s. Hayden Planetarium… he wrote about astronomy for Natural history magazine, Farmer’s background And other publications. Follow us on Twitter. @Spacedotcom And in Facebook.
