The much-anticipated total solar eclipse will be watched by millions across North America this afternoon.
Because so many Americans live within or very close to the path of totality, it is being projected that this will be the most viewed total solar eclipse that the U.S. has ever experienced…
The total eclipse will first appear along Mexico’s Pacific Coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT, then travel across a swath of the U.S., from Texas to Maine, and into Canada.
About 31.6 million people live in the path of totality, the area where the moon will fully block out the sun, according to NASA. The path will range between 108 and 122 miles wide. An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality.
There are more than 19,000 cities, towns and villages in the United States, and the very first one the path of totality will hit will be Eagle Pass, Texas…
The eclipse will begin in the U.S. on the afternoon of April 8. It will first be visible as a partial eclipse beginning at 12:06 p.m. CDT near Eagle Pass, Texas, before progressing to totality by about 1:27 p.m. CDT and progressing along its path to the northeast over the next few hours.
As Michael Snyder reports, according to NASA, the path of totality for the Great American Eclipse of 2024 will actually be substantially wider compared to the path of totality for the Great American Eclipse of 2017…
The path of totality – where viewers can see the Moon totally block the Sun, revealing the star’s outer atmosphere, called the corona – is much wider during the upcoming total solar eclipse than it was during the eclipse in 2017. As the Moon orbits Earth, its distance from our planet varies. During the 2017 total solar eclipse, the Moon was a little bit farther away from Earth than it will be during the upcoming total solar eclipse, causing the path of that eclipse to be a little skinnier. In 2017, the path ranged from about 62 to 71 miles wide. During the April eclipse, the path over North America will range between 108 and 122 miles wide – meaning at any given moment, this eclipse covers more ground.
The 2024 eclipse path will also pass over more cities and densely populated areas than the 2017 path did. This will make it easier for more people to see totality. An estimated 31.6 million people live in the path of totality this year, compared to 12 million in 2017. An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality.
If you are not able to make it into the path of totality on Monday, there is a very good chance you will still be able to experience at least a partial eclipse as long as clouds do not completely obscure your view.
NASA is telling us that literally 99 percent of the people that live in the United States will be able to see at least a partial eclipse…
You don’t need to live within the path of totality to see the eclipse – in April, 99% of people who reside in the United States will be able to see the partial or total eclipse from where they live. Every contiguous U.S. state, plus parts of Alaska and Hawaii, will experience at least a partial solar eclipse.
This really is an eclipse for the entire country.
Even on the west coast, approximately half of the sun will be blocked out by our moon…
The moon will block a significant portion of the sun and create a partial solar eclipse outside of the path of totality. The closer an area is to the path of totality, the larger the portion of the sun and its solar radiation – sunlight and energy – will be obscured by the moon.
At least 50% of the sun will be blocked during the eclipse as far west as Anaheim, California, and as far east as Orlando, Florida. Only around 20% of the sun will be blocked in the Pacific Northwest.
How the eclipse will look from where you are
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) April 8, 2024
pic.twitter.com/4Gn6VtFgNx
NASA is hosting a livestream of the solar eclipse which can be viewed here...
