Solar eclipses are special events for astronomers and science enthusiasts. This year, a total eclipse is occurring on April 8, and stargazers across the globe are excitedly waiting for the rare cosmic event.
According to a report by sciencenews.org, this year’s total eclipse will last longer, the sky will fall darker, and the sun itself will put on a much livelier show.
Apart from this, this year’s eclipse will be the last major one to cross North America for 20 years.
Why will the eclipse last longer?
In April, the moon will be at a point in its orbit that’s comparatively close to Earth, said the report. This will make the moon appear particularly large. It will be a dark eclipse, lasting nearly four-and-a-half minutes – two minutes longer than the Great American Eclipse of 2017.
Scientists claim that the sun will be close to solar maximum in 2024 – the peak of its roughly 11-year activity cycle. This would result in lots of bright, petal-like streamers of plasma extending from the solar corona.
This rise in solar activity may also increase the chances of a coronal mass ejection — a large puff of hot gas trapped in a loop of magnetic field that is blasted away from the sun’s surface, added the report.
If the coronal mass ejection takes place, viewers without any special equipment should be able to see them.
What’s special about this eclipse’s path?
“There are nearly 32 million people (who will be) inside the path (of totality),” Science News quoted cartographer Michael Zeiler as saying, who added, “That’s about 2½ times as many as during the 2017 eclipse. And the major East Coast metros from Baltimore to Boston are all about 200 miles from the path of totality.”
Zeiler, founder of GreatAmericanEclipse.com, the path of totality is going to be very accessible to some degree in every US state as well as parts of northwestern Mexico and southeastern Canada.
According to Nasa, the total solar eclipse will enter the US in Texas, and travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. In Canada, it will be visible in southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
Will it be visible in India?
The 2024 total solar eclipse will not be visible in India.
Eclipse time: 2.12 pm – 2.22 pm.
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Published: 27 Mar 2024, 06:48 PM IST