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A cosmic marvel
The moon will block the sun’s face next week.
The April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will darken skies along a 115-mile-wide path across North America. This year’s eclipse is expected to be a bigger, longer spectacle than the one that passed over the United States in 2017.
The celestial event is expected to draw millions of people to cities and towns within the moon’s shadow on Earth. After all, the continent won’t see another total eclipse until 2045.
Here’s a short guide on how to watch this spring’s eclipse, even if you don’t have front-row seats to the big show in the sky.
This newsletter was compiled by Joshua Barajas, Isabella Isaacs-Thomas, Daniel Cooney and Adam Kemp.
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HOW TO WATCH THE 2024 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE
Prime viewing of Monday’s total solar eclipse will stretch from Mexico to eastern Canada.
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Watch the eclipse’s “path of totality” in the video above. Animation by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour
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The “path of totality” — the narrow band where the moon’s shadow will fall on Earth — will cross parts of 15 U.S. states, from Kerrville, Texas, to Caribou, Maine.
More than 30 million people already live within that path and can easily witness the total solar eclipse. Millions more are expected to travel for the rare event, kicking off an “eclipse boom” for states and cities in the path.
What will happen during the eclipse? During a total solar eclipse, the moon briefly casts its shadow on Earth as it moves between our planet and the sun. As the moon temporarily obscures the sun’s ultra-bright disk, everything in the path of that shadow is plunged into darkness, and the glowing “corona” beyond the sun’s surface becomes visible.
Researchers are also paying close attention to how wild and domestic animals behave during those temporary moments of daytime darkness.
Look out for the “crown.” For scientists who study the corona — Latin for “crown,” aka the sun’s outer atmosphere — total solar eclipses are an unrivaled research opportunity. That’s because telescopes on Earth and in space can’t offer the same high-quality view of the corona that emerges during totality. |
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The sun’s corona was visible across parts of Chile and Argentina during a 2019 total solar eclipse. Photo by NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth
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The NewsHour spoke to two researchers about projects during this year’s eclipse that they hope will help us better understand what’s happening within the sun’s crown.
Outside the eclipse’s path? Don’t worry. Nearly everyone in North America can still witness a partial eclipse. The duration will vary depending on your location. In short, the farther you are from the path of totality, the smaller the moon’s coverage of the sun. NASA has an interactive map with start and length times. Simply enter in your zip code or city.
Local PBS stations in Indiana, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are also streaming live coverage during their moment in the eclipse spotlight.
Are you in the “four-minute club”? Totality lasted less than three minutes during the 2017 eclipse. This year’s totality will last longer, exceeding four minutes in many locations.
Look, up in the sky! (With protection, please.) You’ll need proper “eclipse glasses” or handheld solar viewers to safely view a total or partial solar eclipse. Otherwise, you risk serious eye injury.
Read this guide from The Conversation on why you need to protect your eyes. Be wary of counterfeit glasses. And to put a finer point on this safety tidbit, NASA says regular sunglasses, no matter how dark their lenses, are not safe for viewing.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson demonstrated for the NewsHour’s Miles O'Brien how to wear the eclipse glasses.
Cloudy with a chance of eclipse? Clearer skies make for better eclipse experiences. Make sure to check local forecasts a day or two before the day of the eclipse. If clouds are crowding out the skies above you, the PBS NewsHour will live stream the eclipse so you view it online, starting at 1 p.m. EDT. |
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Watch the stream in the player above.
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NASA will also stream live coverage of the eclipse, with expert commentary and views from different locations in the path of totality.
Even if clouds obscure your view of the blotted-out sun on the day of the eclipse, you will still see the daylight dim.
You can also follow the PBS NewsHour’s eclipse coverage on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. Highlights of the spectacle will be on our Instagram.
Any other tips? This year’s eclipse will cut across more populated areas of the country than the one that darkened skies in 2017. Preparation will be a necessity.
Brace for long traffic lines. Pack plenty of food and water. Cell phone signal disruptions are likely. (Maybe print out directions ahead of time.) Top off gas tanks. Charge electronics.
Most importantly? Patience. Pack tons of it.
As one mayor of a small Oklahoma town told the NewsHour: “You are going to be living on Hochatown-time. Don’t expect anything to go very fast.” |
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A ‘WONDERFUL WINDOW’ INTO OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE 🌌
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Watch the video in the player above.
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If you’re over the moon about the total solar eclipse, it’s important not just to watch the spectacle but to learn how it comes to be.
An eclipse is “such a wonderful window into our place” in the universe and an opportunity to discuss “how the Earth is positioned in relation to the sun and the moon,” said Jenny Marder, author of “The Ultimate Kid's Guide to the Universe” and senior science writer at NASA.
The celestial event, which won’t take place again in the U.S. for another two decades, is also an educational one. Other topics Marder said could be explored with children during the eclipse include: “There are so many conversations that you can have with your kids that just start with a solar eclipse,” Marder told the NewsHour’s Deema Zein.
A FINAL THOUGHT
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Watch the video in the player above.
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For many Indigenous communities along the path of totality, the solar eclipse is more than a spectacle in the sky.
For the Choctaw Nation, which anticipates throngs of visitors to southeastern Oklahoma for the event, the eclipse is part of a squirrely tale of its own history, one based on an account of a Trail of Tears survivor.
According to the tale, a mischievous black squirrel tried to eat the sun. The Choctaw people then made noise by banging pots and pans or firing rifles to scare him away. The squirrel, known as Fvni Lusa, scurried off, allowing the sun’s light to return.
Dawn Standridge, a cultural research associate for the Choctaw Nation, said the tribe plans to retell the story of Fvni Lusa and ask people to make noise when the skies darken on April 8.
“It's exciting for us to be able to have all these individuals who come in from everywhere to learn about Choctaw history in the midst of this eclipse,” Standridge said.
It’s also a chance to share how the Choctaw people arrived from Mississippi and Alabama during the Trail of Tears, “what they had to endure and what we were able to accomplish when we got here,” she added. |
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