[note from Charles. Anthony and I trekked to Central Oregon to view the 2017 Solar Eclipse, chronicled in this post]
Paul Dorian
This map shows the 20-year (2000-2020) “median cloud fraction” in the month of April at approximately 1:30 pm local time as measured from NASA’s Aqua satellite. The path of totality on April 8, 2024, is shown with red lines marking the northern and southern limits and a blue line up the center. Based on this climatological cloud cover map, Mexico and southern Texas offer the best prospects for a clear view of totality. Data courtesy: NASA.
Overview
In August of 2017 America went crazy for the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on US soil since 1918 and it provided a great opportunity for scientists and all sky watchers. What was referred to as “The Great American Solar Eclipse” took place on August 21st, 2017 when the moon passed between the sun and earth. Total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every year or so, but generally cast their shadows over oceans or remote land masses. If you missed the 2017 total solar eclipse or it turned out to be cloudy in your particular area then there will be another opportunity in just about six months from now on Monday, April 8th, 2024. This time the Moon’s dark shadow, about 115 miles wide, will cross Mexico, sweep northeast from Texas to Maine, and then darken the Canadian Maritimes.
Cities inside the totality path for the April 8th, 2024 total solar eclipse (Courtesy GreatAmericanEclipse.com)
Details
The next total solar eclipse visible on US soil will come on Monday, April 8th, 2024. This one will feature a duration of totality up to 4 minutes and 27 seconds which is almost double that of “The Great American Eclipse” of August 21, 2017. It is estimated that the 2017 total solar eclipse was witnessed by around 20 million people from Oregon to South Carolina and the next one is very likely to be viewed by many millions more. The prediction of “many millions more viewers” is quite safe considering the fact that there are 31 million people already living in the totality path which will extend in a southwest-to-northeast fashion from Texas to Maine.
The solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, will be total in a narrow path from Mexico to the Canadian Maritimes and partial to the northwest and southeast. Yellow curves indicate how much of the Sun is covered by the Moon outside the path of totality. The difference between a total solar eclipse and a partial one is literally the difference between night and day, so get yourself into the path of totality if you can. Courtesy GreatAmericanEclipse.com
In the US, totality will begin on April 8th, 2024 at 1:27 (CDT) in Texas and will end in Maine at 3:35 pm (EDT). The narrow path of totality—where the Moon covers the Sun completely, causing a total eclipse – runs through Mexico (from SinaloatoCoahuila), the US (from Texasto Maine), and Canada (from OntariotoNewfoundland). And if you happen to live in southern Illinois or southeastern Missouri then you will be lucky enough to be in the “totality zone” for the second time when including the 2017 celestial event. A partial eclipse will be visible across nearly all of North America, and a sliver of western Europe.
This animated GIF shows the Moon’s shadow arcing across the Pacific, then traversing North America, and ending at sunset not far from Spain. The longest duration will be near Torreon, Mexico at 4 minutes and 27 seconds. The inner black circle, the umbra, is where the shadow is complete — a total eclipse of the Sun. The outer shadow circle, the penumbra, shows the extent of the partial eclipse. The partial eclipse will be slight near the outer circle and deep near the path of totality.
During a total solar eclipse, the Moon blocks the Sun’s bright face — the photosphere — briefly revealing our star’s outer atmosphere: the shimmering corona, or “crown.” The corona is always there, but we usually can’t see it because the photosphere is about a million times brighter and drowns it out. When the Moon covers the Sun’s bright face, the corona is definitely the main attraction, and depending on location, the corona will be visible for up to 4 minutes 28 seconds.
These are the times and durations of the eclipse at several points inside the path of the total solar eclipse.
Made of rarefied gas heated to millions of degrees, with its atoms highly ionized (stripped of electrons), the corona gets sculpted into streamers and loops by the Sun’s powerful magnetic field and shines with a light seen nowhere else. Those who have witnessed it say it is hauntingly beautiful and one of the most awesome sights in all of nature. During those moments of totality, it is safe to look directly at the Sun, even through binoculars or a telescope. But whenever any part of the photosphere is uncovered, it is essential to view the Sun through a safe solar filter, that is, one that meets the transmission requirements of the ISO 12312-2 international standard. Such filters are widely available and are not too costly. Looking at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed Sun through dark sunglasses or any other unapproved filter is a recipe for serious and potentially permanent eye injury.
Diamond Ring Eclipse By Anthony Watts 8-21-17
At the beginning and end of totality, the thin middle layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, the chromosphere, blazes in an arc of ruby red. The sky darkens to a deep twilight blue, with yellow, orange, and pink sunrise/sunset colors on the horizon in all directions. Bright stars and planets may become visible in the darkened sky and the air temperature will often drop noticeably. The dark sky even tricks nocturnal animals into thinking it’s nighttime and you may hear crickets chirping or see birds returning to their nests.
Remember…when it comes to solar eclipses…99% is definitely not the same as 100%…getting inside the path of totality is critical as this is the only place the corona can be seen.
One final note… after 2024, the next total solar eclipse to be visible from the United States will be in 2044.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield
arcfieldweather.com
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Has anyone been daft enough to suggest using the eclipse as a [brief] test for ‘Sun dimming‘ – to keep us safe within the holy 1.5C limit?
One thing that caught my eye recently was the pairing up of the Parker Solar Probe and the Solar Orbiter
“Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter team up to tackle 65-year-old sun mystery
This team-up could finally solve the so-called “coronal heating mystery”
https://www.space.com/parker-solar-probe-solar-orbiter-sun-mystery-65-years
Parker Solar Probe has been clocked at 394,736 mph (635,266 kph) and has come within 4.51 million miles of the solar surface.
One of Nasa’s better efforts.
Irrespective of your point, Strat, I think we need urgent research funding to go to Tahiti for observations.
The BBC has that covered, Bil
“In Tahiti, where the eclipse began, crowds of football-mad Polynesians turned away from the World Cup final on TV to look to the skies instead.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10592671
An eclipse can distract football mad Polynesians. Amazing.
It’s so bad there that bodies are lying all over, especially on the beaches.
If you see an unconscious young woman who has lost her swimming suit top, should you immediately start mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?
“””clocked at 394,736 mph
So what, the original Parker often clocked that as he taxied Lady Penelope from one hi-profile lipstick signing to another, in between constant meetings with diplomats and presidents all around the globe.
“”””4.51 million miles of the solar surface.
While Thunderbird 3 often ventured within mere inches of Sol’s surface to rescue errant travellers and misplaced explorers
Nothing new here or haha ‘under the sun‘
On a lighter note, if Sol’s Corona is at a temperature of (say) One Million Celsius, why isn’t Sol, and according The Holy & Irrefutable Scripture that is = the GHGE, why isn’t Sol radiating at 5.7×10¹⁶ Watts per square metre – instead of the paltry 64×10⁶ that everyone says it is?
We seem to be missing ten to the power of ten = not inconsiderable unless you’re NASA-WithASputnik and thus = A God
What am I missing there?
Sol’s corona is the temperature it is for the exact same reason the Earth’s Stratosphere has an inversion layer at its base.
= precisly the principle of how molecules escape the surface of a fluid that is evaporating – the hot molecules jump out first and go faster and further.
And if they land in a place that is = Stratified (low to zero turbulence) and they selves have low emissivity, that place will become ‘hot’ = Hotter than the place they jumped out of. They self-select that place – just like Climate Conferences do.
Yes it seems counterintuitive but so were most things you were told in Primary School
Yes, m’lady…
All things being equal, the fastest molecules are the smallest molecules.
The glorious Sun, our earthly life force, climate driver and unfortunately, also our doom in 4.5 billion years time, just as our Milky Way galaxy begins to crash into the fast approaching Andromeda galaxy
One things for sure, in our dynamic galactic environment, change is always
“our doom in 4.5 billion years “
Reminded me of this…
Complex life hasn’t got that much time. As the Earth’s interior cools down tectonic activity decreases. Tectonic activity is the source of volcanoes, which are the source of CO2. Based on tectonic rate progression it is calculated that in about 250 million years the continents will stop moving, and volcanic activity will become so low that not enough CO2 will be produced. As CO2 is being constantly sequestered for good by weathering and calcifying organisms, CO2 levels will become too low, and trophic chains will collapse. In about 500 million years’ time, the Earth will be again a microorganism-only planet. They won’t care much when the Sun becomes a red giant.
If the CO2 trend for for the last 150 million years continues we’ve a lot less time than that!
During the last glacial cycle the Gas of Life dropped to only 180ppm with greatly lower tree lines and most plants struggling to survive. In one of the next two or three cycles of increased glaciation CO2 will drop below 150ppm and life as we know it will simply die off!
Of course this can all be averted if an intelligent life form becomes involved, but the chances of one evolving in the next few million years is remote!
Story tip HotSat-1 deployed by Satvu. Can detect energy radiated by individual buildings.
https://spacewatch.global/2023/10/satvu-releases-first-light-imagery-from-hotsat-1/
https://news.sky.com/story/hotsat-1-worlds-thermometer-sends-back-first-pictures-of-earths-hotspots-in-milestone-for-climate-monitoring-12977923
This was on the Waffen BBC this morning. Finger pointing is the way forward.
We flew down to TripleTree airpark in South Carolina to experience the last US one. It was remarkable. It was a hot day with plenty of cumulus clouds that basically disappeared over a very short time as the Sun disappeared. Eerie and spooky might be good terms to define it. One of the other best parts was flying back to central NC and seeing the huge traffic jams of cars on I-77 south of Charlotte and we weren’t in it.
My sister’s house in Ohio is dead on the centerline of this upcoming one. It might be worth a trip to see her. For anyone.. seeing a total solar eclipse once in your life should be a bucket list item.
“One of the other best parts was flying back to central NC and seeing the huge traffic jams of cars on I-77 south of Charlotte and we weren’t in it.”
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We were in that jam as we made our way back from Kaskaskia IL. We plan to see the 2024 eclipse from that very same place.
We saw the March 7th 1970 eclipse from Virginia Beach, VA and I don’t remember any traffic jam on the way back to Washington DC at the time.
I live just east of Indianapolis, so I won’t have to drive for this one.
As a student back in the 1990s, I learned of the 2017 and 2024 eclipses, the latter of which goes right over my hometown.
For 20 years, I eagerly anticipated that 2017 eclipse. We drove down to Russellville, Kentucky for the event with our two young kids — and it exceeded even my wildest expectations.
Hopefully we can welcome all of you to clear skies in Indiana come April 8. You won’t regret it.
Not related, but I wanted to put this on a recent comment section
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67010377 the attached picture is a screen shot of Chicago, clearly shows the UHI on a street by street basis.
How warm is the ocean?
Darwin is tucked into a bay and shallow bays get much hotter than open oceans, looks like they’re saving the red until they run out of orange crayons !
Thank you for your answer.
I’ve just looked up the imaging spec for the satellite
High resolution – 3.5m GSD NADIR
Mid-infrared – 3.4-5.0 µm
Sensitivity – <2K
Video – up to 60 sec @ 25 frames/sec
Day & Night Imaging
I don’t know whether the infrared window is significant in the grand scheme of things with regards to the temperatures that can be detected.
The Earth enters into an eclipse season roughly every 6 months when the line that connects the lunar nodes -the points where the lunar orbit intersects the ecliptic- aligns with the line connecting the Earth and the Sun.
There’s a short period then when all the eclipses take place until the next season. Every six months there are total eclipses somewhere.
If you’ve got the money and the will, and don’t care about your CO2 emissions 😉 you can watch an eclipse twice a year.
Week from tomorrow, if not too cloudy plan to go to the bay and see if there is a disruption. Once read a paper about the brief interference of vertical migration.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/park-information/links/
Left out part somehow, go there, click on eclipse
Here is a better website as it for every city in USA to choose from, LINK
I lived in Atlanta when an annular eclipse occurred there, sometime in the early 1980’s.
Hate to say it, but I was underwhelmed.
On the other hand I was attening Ga Tech at the time, and the campus was almost dead center of the totality. The roof of the physics center was so full of telescopes and equipment that it almost looked like they had added another floor to the building.
I live near the path. I will plan on taking the day off.
If you’re planning to travel to view totality, take a tent. I booked my room in April and there was only one hotel in the area with any rooms available – even within a 30 mile radius.
Meanwhile there is an ANNULAR Eclipse next week October 14 where it is great for western USA and Northern South America.
From In-The-Sky LINK
You might have to go here LINK first to set your location.
I use this website a lot as I am an avid deep sky enthusiast with two telescopes the 18 F 4.75 and the old 13.1 F 4.5 Coulter Odyssey.
18″ and the 13.1″ mirror sizes.
More information at:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2023-october-14
The center line of the totality is about 5 miles from where we live.