How do solar eclipses occur?
The Moon revolves around the Earth, and the Earth and Moon revolve around the Sun. Sometimes it happens that the Moon interposes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking its light.
Eclipses are not only interesting for the general public, but also for researchers, because they are a good opportunity to study the solar corona, a region that is generally difficult to analyze precisely because the sun is so bright.
Solar eclipses are special events and people can't wait to see them, but few eclipses have generated as much interest as the one that will be visible from North America on April 8. For some cities it will be the biggest event in recent decades and millions of people will come to the area where it will be night for a few minutes. Why is this eclipse special?
This solar eclipse is special because the band of totality, i.e. the area where it will be dark in broad daylight, is several thousand km long and even more than 180 km wide.
In addition, the Sun will be covered for longer: the 2017 eclipse had a maximum coverage of 2 minutes and 40 seconds, and the April 8, 2024 eclipse will have a maximum of 4 minutes and 28 seconds. There will be 3 minutes and 51 seconds of darkness in Dallas, two seconds less in Indianapolis, and three and a half minutes in Niagara Falls. NASA has a lot of information about the eclipse, and to see it you can go here.
In most cases, inside the band of totality - if you go 40km towards its center - you can get an extra 90 seconds of darkness during the eclipse, which isn't bad at all for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
(to be continued)
