There will be a total solar eclipse in Central and North America on Monday. Such an event only occurs every 18 months on average and is likely to be seen by a particularly large number of people this time due to its relatively good shadow path.
Solar eclipse – a spectacle in the sky
A solar eclipse is a fascinating event that has captivated mankind since time immemorial. While the sun is normally a radiant center in the sky, during a solar eclipse a temporary eclipse occurs when the moon comes between it and the earth, blocking some or even all of the sun's rays. This seemingly simple phenomenon fascinates not only astronomers and scientists, but also people all over the world. According to tradition, a solar eclipse in 585 BC even led to the end of the war between the hostile Lydians and Medes or confirmed the predicted gravitational deflection of light of the general theory of relativity in 1919.
Different types of solar eclipses
Every year, at least two to a maximum of five solar eclipses occur worldwide. A distinction is made between total, annular and partial eclipses . More details on the different types of eclipse can be found in this blog, for example.
Total solar eclipse in North America
A total solar eclipse – is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating natural phenomena – occurs on average only every 18 months somewhere on our planet. On April 8, it will happen again: large parts of the Central Pacific as well as Central and North America will witness this impressive phenomenon.
Fig. 1: Path of the solar eclipse; Source: NASA
Shortly before 8 p.m. CEST, the umbra will hit land for the first time. On the island of Socorro, which belongs to Mexico, the 45 (!) islanders will be able to experience the temporary onset of darkness. Around a quarter of an hour later, the umbra will reach the Mexican mainland and then move as far as Newfoundland in the following two hours. Within a relatively narrow strip of 170 to almost 200 kilometers, residents of cities such as Dallas, Little Rock, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Toledo, Buffalo, Rochester and Montreal will be able to experience the total eclipse directly. The duration of the eclipse varies between 2 and 4 minutes. It is estimated that around 32 million people will live in the path of the eclipse, and many millions more will seek temporary accommodation in these areas. This can be seen, among other things, in this occupancy map of all Airbnbs for the period in question.
Airbnb bookings along the total solar eclipse path pic.twitter.com/Y16yWis4EP
— Los Angeles Magazine (@LAmag) April 4, 2024
Although the eclipse will be equally visible everywhere, the direct view of the sun will also depend on the degree of cloud cover. The following map shows the modeled cloud cover for next Monday. White regions show areas with many clouds, while blue regions show mostly cloudless conditions.
Fig. 2: Forecast cloud cover on Monday; Source: Earth Nullschool
Solar eclipses in Switzerland
Total solar eclipses are very rare in Switzerland. The last total solar eclipse was on July 8, 1842, and the next time the sun will not be completely eclipsed until September 3, 2081. If that takes too long, you can look forward to the more numerous partial solar eclipses in the meantime. The next opportunity for this will be on March 29, 2025.
disclaimer
The content of this article has been at least partially computer translated from another language. Therefore, grammatical errors or inaccuracies are possible. Please note that the original language version of the article should be considered authoritative.
