Solar eclipses are dramatic events as a rule. But the total eclipse coming on April 8 is going to ratchet up the experience.
It will also be the last major eclipse to cross North America for 20 years. All of that means that it’s an especially rare opportunity for casual observers and scientists alike. Here are a few things to know about this spectacular event.
The moon will be at a point in its orbit that’s comparatively close to Earth in April, making the moon appear particularly large. As a result, for anyone fortunate enough to make it to the path of totality — where the moon completely blocks out the sun’s disk — it will be an especially dark eclipse that will last for nearly 4½ minutes. That’s almost two minutes longer than the Great American Eclipse of 2017 (SN: 8/11/17).
What’s more, the sun will be close to solar maximum in 2024. That’s the peak of its roughly 11-year activity cycle. As a result, lots of bright, petal-like streamers of plasma will extend from the solar corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere. The increase in solar activity also ups the chances of a coronal mass ejection, a large puff of hot gas trapped in a loop of magnetic field that’s blasted away from the sun’s surface.
2024-01-04 11:00:00
Source from www.sciencenews.org