During an Eclipse, Try These Alternative Ways to Experience the Event

04.04.2024 - 00:09 / atlasobscura.com

This story was originally published on The Conversation . It appears here under a Creative Commons license.

The kind of solar eclipses usually portrayed in films are total solar eclipses—a reasonably rare event. They’re likely what you think about when you hear the word eclipse. A total eclipse is when the Moon and the Sun line up in the sky in such a way that the Moon blocks the entire face of the Sun, called totality. Somewhere on Earth, these occur approximately every 18 months.

But we can’t all experience totality every time as the shadow of the Moon tracks a narrow path over Earth’s surface. Any given point on Earth is only likely to experience this approximately once every 375 years.

Being able to view a total solar eclipse strongly depends on your location, and on having cloudless skies (or at least patchy clouds). Even though totality is not very common, you’ll likely have many partial solar eclipses from your location over the years. If you’re lucky enough to be in the path of a total or partial eclipse, get prepared and know what to expect.

In North America on April 8, there will be a solar eclipse with a path of totality stretching from Mazatlán on the Pacific coast of Mexico, through the United States (Texas to Maine), and into Canada, heading over the Atlantic Ocean after crossing over much of Newfoundland. Millions of people outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial solar eclipse. Whether you’re able to see a sliver of Sun or none at all, here are some ways to experience this event.

During any eclipse, the blocking of the Sun’s light and heat means it’ll get darker and cooler. How dark and how cool depends on how much of the Sun is being blocked. In a partial eclipse greater than 50 percent, enough light can be blocked to give the appearance of dusk.

This can confuse the local wildlife. You may notice the birds fall quiet and bats might start to come out to feed, even though it could be the middle of the day.

Depending on the time of year, you might want to bring a sweater or coat. The local temperature can drop several degrees. In 2001, a drop of 5 degrees Celsius (about 9 degrees Fahrenheit) occurred in Zambia during totality and in 1834 a 15-degree-Celsius difference (nearly 30 degrees Fahrenheit) was reported.

Newton thought gravity was a force between two objects, but Einstein’s 1915 theory of general relativity relied on the idea that gravity causes spacetime to bend. This means massive objects like stars cause the path of light to bend as it passes them by.

The Sun is a massive object which, according to Einstein’s theory, would bend the light from distant stars as it passes in front of them. Normally the Sun is far too bright to notice this light. But,