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Tag: Eclipses

  • A ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse will dazzle people and penguins in Antarctica

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    NEW YORK — The first solar eclipse of the year will grace Antarctica, and only a lucky few will get to bask — or waddle — in its glow.

    Tuesday’s annular solar eclipse, known as a “ ring of fire,” will only be visible in the southernmost continent, home to research stations and diverse wildlife.

    “The penguins down there are going to have a great show,” said astronomer Joe Llama with Lowell Observatory.

    Clear skies permitting, more people can catch a partial eclipse with small bites taken out of the sun from the tips of Chile and Argentina and bits of southeastern Africa including Madagascar, Lesotho and South Africa.

    Solar eclipses happen when the sun, moon and Earth align just so. The moon casts a shadow that can partially or totally block out the sun’s light from Earth.

    It’s “this beautiful coincidence between the size and the distance of the moon and the sun,” said astrophysicist Emily Rice with the City University of New York.

    During an annular, or ring-shaped, eclipse, the moon just happens to be farther away from Earth in its orbit so it doesn’t totally cover the sun. Only a thin sliver remains visible.

    “The sun essentially gets its core taken out,” Llama said.

    Solar eclipses happen a few times a year, but are only visible from places in the path of the moon’s shadow. Two partial eclipses happened last year, and the last total solar eclipse swept across North America in 2024.

    Looking directly at the sun is dangerous even when most of it is covered so make sure to grab eclipse glasses. They block out ultraviolet light from the sun and nearly all visible light. Sunglasses and binoculars aren’t protective enough.

    Eclipse glasses should say they comply with ISO 12312-2 standards, though fake suppliers can also list this on their products.

    There are also ways to enjoy solar eclipses indirectly. Make a pinhole projector using household materials or hold up a colander or cheese grater to the sky and look down to see images of the eclipse projected onto the ground.

    There is a total solar eclipse in the cards in August for skygazers in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and part of Portugal. Swaths of Europe, Africa and North America will be treated to a partial eclipse.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • The moon and sun figure big in the new year’s lineup of cosmic wonders

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The moon and sun share top billing in 2026.

    Kicking off the year’s cosmic wonders is the moon, drawing the first astronauts to visit in more than 50 years as well as a caravan of robotic lunar landers including Jeff Bezos’ new supersized Blue Moon. A supermoon looms on Jan. 3 and an astronomical blue moon is on the books for May.

    The sun will also generate buzz with a ring-of-fire eclipse at the bottom of the world in February and a total solar eclipse at the top of the world in August. Expect more auroras in unexpected places, though perhaps not as frequently as the past couple years.

    And that comet that strayed into our turf from another star? While still visible with powerful backyard telescopes, the recently discovered comet known as 3I/Atlas is fading by the day after swinging past Earth in December. Jupiter is next on its dance card in March. Once the icy outsider departs our solar system a decade from now, it will be back where it belongs in interstellar space.

    It’s our third known interstellar visitor. Scientists anticipate more.

    “I can’t believe it’s taken this long to find three,” said NASA’s Paul Chodas, who’s been on the lookout since the 1980s. And with ever better technology, “the chance of catching another interstellar visitor will increase.”

    Here’s a rundown on what the universe has in store for us in 2026:

    NASA’s upcoming moonshot commander Reid Wiseman said there’s a good chance he and his crew will be the first to lay eyeballs on large swaths of the lunar far side that were missed by the Apollo astronauts a half-century ago. Their observations could be a boon for geologists, he noted, and other experts picking future landing sites.

    Launching early in the year, the three Americans and one Canadian will zip past the moon, do a U-turn behind it, then hustle straight back to Earth to close out their 10-day mission. No stopping for a moonwalk — the boot prints will be left by the next crew in NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program.

    More robotic moon landings are on the books by China as well as U.S. companies. Early in the year, Amazon founder Bezos is looking for his Blue Origin rocket company to launch a prototype of the lunar lander it’s designing for NASA’s astronauts. This Blue Moon demo will stand 26 feet (8 meters), taller than what delivered Apollo’s 12 moonwalkers to the lunar surface. The Blue Moon version for crew will be almost double that height.

    Back for another stab at the moon, Astrobotic Technology and Intuitive Machines are also targeting 2026 landings with scientific gear. The only private entity to nail a lunar landing, Firefly Aerospace, will aim for the moon’s far side in 2026.

    China is targeting the south polar region in the new year, sending a rover as well as a so-called hopper to jump into permanently shadowed craters in search of ice.

    The cosmos pulls out all the stops with a total solar eclipse on Aug. 12 that will begin in the Arctic and cross over Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Totality will last two minutes and 18 seconds as the moon moves directly between Earth and the sun to blot out the latter. By contrast, the total solar eclipse in 2027 will offer a whopping 6 1/2 minutes of totality and pass over more countries.

    For 2026, the warm-up act will be a ring-of-fire eclipse in the Antarctic on Feb. 17, with only a few research stations in prime viewing position. South Africa and southernmost Chile and Argentina will have partial viewing. A total lunar eclipse will follow two weeks after February’s ring of fire, with a partial lunar eclipse closing out the action at the end of August.

    Six of the solar system’s eight planets will prance across the sky in a must-see lineup around Feb. 28. A nearly full moon is even getting into the act, appearing alongside Jupiter. Uranus and Neptune will require binoculars or telescopes. But Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn should be visible with the naked eye shortly after sunset, weather permitting, though Mercury and Venus will be low on the horizon.

    Mars will be the lone no-show. The good news is that the red planet will join a six-planet parade in August, with Venus the holdout.

    Three supermoons will lighten up the night skies in 2026, the stunning result when a full moon inches closer to Earth than usual as it orbits in a not-quite-perfect circle. Appearing bigger and brighter, supermoons are a perennial crowd pleaser requiring no equipment, only your eyes.

    The year’s first supermoon in January coincides with a meteor shower, but the moonlight likely will obscure the dimmer fireballs. The second supermoon of 2026 won’t occur until Nov. 24, with the third — the year’s final and closest supermoon — occurring the night of Dec. 23 into Dec. 24. This Christmas Eve supermoon will pass within 221,668 miles (356,740 kilometers) of Earth.

    The sun is expected to churn out more eruptions in 2026 that could lead to geomagnetic storms here on Earth, giving rise to stunning aurora. Solar action should start to ease, however, with the 11-year solar cycle finally on the downslide.

    Space weather forecasters like Rob Steenburgh at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration can’t wait to tap into all the solar wind measurements coming soon from an observatory launched in the fall.

    “2026 will be an exciting year for space weather enthusiasts,” he said in an email, with this new spacecraft and others helping scientists “better understand our nearest star and forecast its impacts.”

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • The first supermoon of the year is approaching. Here’s what to know

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — The moon will appear slightly larger and brighter Monday night during what’s known as a supermoon.

    October’s supermoon is the first of three this year. It happens when a full moon is closer to Earth in its orbit. That makes the moon look up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year, according to NASA. The subtle difference happens a few times a year, sometimes coinciding with other astronomical events such as lunar eclipses.

    “It’s not really very unusual,” said Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer with the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

    Everyone in the world can see a supermoon without special equipment if clear skies permit. But the difference can be tough to discern, especially if people haven’t observed the regular moon on the nights leading up.

    “If you go out and just look at the moon when it’s very high in the sky, there is nothing relative to it to give you an idea of how big it looks,” Pitts said.

    In the latest viewing, the moon will pass within about 224,600 miles (361,459 kilometers) of Earth. The closest supermoon of the year is slated for November, followed by another in December.

    The spectacles continue in 2026 with two lunar eclipses: a total eclipse across much of North America, Asia and Australia in March, and a partial one in August across the Americas, Africa and Europe.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • October’s ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse will dazzle parts of South America and Pacific

    October’s ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse will dazzle parts of South America and Pacific

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    NEW YORK — A “ring of fire” eclipse of the sun is coming. But only a lucky few will be in the path.

    The annular solar eclipsewill be visible Wednesday over Easter Island and the tips of Argentina and Chile.

    Here’s how to safely watch the final solar spectacle of the year.

    Solar eclipses happen when the sun, moon and Earth line up just so. The moon casts a shadow that can partially or totally block the sun’s light.

    During an annular eclipse, the moon obscures all but a ring-shaped sliver of the sun. That’s because the moon is at a point in its orbit that’s farther from Earth.

    “The moon is just not quite big enough to cover the sun,” said Carolyn Sumners at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

    This eclipse will occur mostly over water in the Pacific. Rapa Nui, known as Easter Island, is in the path along with parts of Argentina and Chile.

    A partial solar eclipse, when the sun appears as a crescent, can be seen from several locations including Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Hawaii.

    Solar eclipses happen about two to five times a year. April’s total eclipse of the sun dazzled skywatchers in parts of Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

    Looking directly at the sun can cause eye damage, even when most of it is covered.

    The annular eclipse is safe to spot wearing solar eclipse glasses, which block out ultraviolet light from the sun and nearly all visible light. Sunglasses or binoculars won’t cut it.

    Glasses should say they comply with ISO 12312-2 standards, though fake suppliers can also list this on their products.

    If you don’t have eclipse glasses, you can still enjoy the spectacle indirectly. Make a pinhole projector using household materials or hold up a colander and look down to see an image of the eclipse projected below.

    Peering at the ground under a shady tree can also reveal crescent shadows as the sunlight filters through branches and leaves.

    Two partial solar eclipses will grace the skies next year in March and September.

    The next total solar eclipse won’t arrive until 2026 and will pass over the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Catch a partial lunar eclipse during September’s supermoon

    Catch a partial lunar eclipse during September’s supermoon

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    NEW YORK — Get ready for a partial lunar eclipse and supermoon, all rolled into one.

    The spectacle will be visible in clear skies across North America and South America Tuesday night and in Africa and Europe Wednesday morning.

    A partial lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the sun and moon, casting a shadow that darkens a sliver of the moon and appears to take a bite out of it.

    Since the moon will inch closer to Earth than usual, it’ll appear a bit larger in the sky. The supermoon is one of three remaining this year.

    “A little bit of the sun’s light is being blocked so the moon will be slightly dimmer,” said Valerie Rapson, an astronomer at the State University of New York at Oneonta.

    The Earth, moon and sun line up to produce a solar or lunar eclipse anywhere from four to seven times a year, according to NASA. This lunar eclipse is the second and final of the year after a slight darkening in March.

    In April, a total solar eclipse plunged select cities into darkness across North America.

    No special eye protection is needed to view a lunar eclipse. Viewers can stare at the moon with the naked eye or opt for binoculars and telescopes to get a closer look.

    To spot the moon’s subtle shrinkage over time, hang outside for a few hours or take multiple peeks over the course of the evening, said KaChun Yu, curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

    “From one minute to the next, you might not see much happening,” said Yu.

    For a more striking lunar sight, skywatchers can set their calendars for March 13. The moon will be totally eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow and will be painted red by stray bits of sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles

    August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Monday’s supermoon is the first of four this year.

    During a supermoon, the full moon inches a little closer than usual to Earth. A supermoon isn’t bigger, but it can appear that way in the night sky, although scientists say the difference can be barely perceptible.

    September’s supermoon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse. October’s will be the year’s closest approach, and November’s will round out the year.

    More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • August’s supermoon kicks off four months of lunar spectacles. Here’s how to watch

    August’s supermoon kicks off four months of lunar spectacles. Here’s how to watch

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The first of four supermoons this year rises next week, providing tantalizing views of Earth’s constant companion.

    Stargazers can catch the first act Monday as the full moon inches a little closer than usual, making it appear slightly bigger and brighter in the night sky.

    “I like to think of the supermoon as a good excuse to start looking at the moon more regularly,” said Noah Petro, project scientist for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

    August’s supermoon kicks off a string of lunar spectacles. September’s supermoon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse. October’s will be the year’s closest approach, and November’s will round out the year.

    More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit.

    A supermoon obviously isn’t bigger, but it can appear that way, although scientists say the difference can be barely perceptible.

    “Unless you have looked at a lot of full moons or compare them in images, it is hard to notice the difference, but people should try,” Petro said in an email.

    There’s a quartet of supermoons this year.

    The first will be 224,917 miles (361,970 kilometers) away. The next will be nearly 3,000 miles (4,484 kilometers) closer the night of Sept. 17 into the following morning. A partial lunar eclipse will also unfold that night, visible in much of the Americas, Africa and Europe as the Earth’s shadow falls on the moon, resembling a small bite.

    October’s supermoon will be the year’s closest at 222,055 miles (357,364 kilometers) from Earth, followed by November’s supermoon at a distance of 224,853 miles (361,867 kilometers).

    Scientists point out that only the keenest observers can discern the subtle differences. It’s easier to detect the change in brightness — a supermoon can be 30% brighter than average.

    With the U.S. and other countries ramping up lunar exploration with landers and eventually astronauts, the moon beckons brighter than ever. As project scientist for the first team of moonwalkers coming up under Apollo’s follow-on program, Artemis, Petro is thrilled by the renewed lunar interest.

    “It certainly makes it more fun to stare at,” Petro said.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Can’t get enough of the total solar eclipse or got clouded out? Here are the next ones to watch for

    Can’t get enough of the total solar eclipse or got clouded out? Here are the next ones to watch for

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    DALLAS — Whether you saw the moon completely block the sun, were foiled by cloudy weather or weren’t along the path of Monday’s total solar eclipse, there are still more chances to catch a glimpse.

    Here’s what to know about upcoming solar spectacles:

    Total solar eclipses happen about every year or two or three, due to a precise alignment of the sun, moon and Earth. They can occur anywhere across the globe, usually in remote areas like the South Pacific.

    Save the date: The next full solar eclipse, in 2026, will pass over the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

    The next U.S. taste of totality comes in 2033 when an eclipse brushes Alaska and Russia. And in 2044, one will cross Greenland and western Canada, touching swaths of North Dakota and Montana.

    An eclipse on the scale of Monday’s event won’t happen again until Aug. 12, 2045.

    “But it will be pretty spectacular,” said Mary Urquhart, a planetary scientist at the University of Texas at Dallas. “It’s going to go coast to coast.”

    That eclipse will first greet viewers in Northern California, slicing through Utah, Colorado and Mississippi on its way to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

    You can reuse eclipse glasses to look for sunspots — dark, planet-sized spots that appear on the sun due to tangled magnetic fields.

    A partial lunar eclipse in September will be visible over Europe and much of Asia, Africa, North America and South America.

    Several meteor showers and supermoons will also grace the skies through 2024, as they do every year.

    Space enthusiasts can also visit a local planetarium or science center. The planetarium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, will stay open the weekend after the eclipse to offer themed shows and a guided sunset meditation.

    “People will want to come back, and want to learn more,” said director Dayna Thompson.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Total solar eclipse races across North America

    Total solar eclipse races across North America

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    MESQUITE, Texas — A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America on Monday as a total solar eclipse raced across the continent, thrilling those lucky enough to behold the spectacle through clear skies.

    Eclipse mania gripped all of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, as the moon swept in front of the sun, blotting out daylight. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.

    It was the continent’s biggest eclipse audience ever, with a couple hundred million people living in or near the shadow’s path, plus scores of out-of-towners flocking in.

    Clouds blanketed most of Texas as the total solar eclipse began its diagonal dash across land, starting along Mexico’s mostly clear Pacific coast and aiming for Texas and 14 other U.S. States, before exiting into the North Atlantic near Newfoundland.

    Just east of Dallas, the hundreds gathered at Mesquite’s downtown area cheered and whistled as the clouds parted in the final minutes before totality. As the sun finally became cloaked, the crowd grew louder, whipping off their eclipse glasses to soak in the unforgettable view of the sun’s corona, or spiky outer atmosphere, and Venus shining brilliantly off to the right.

    City officials reminded everyone that the last total solar eclipse in these parts was the 1870s, making this one all the more special. Eclipse-themed music was turned off as the big moment approached.

    “Oh God, it’s so dark,” marveled Aiyana Brown, 14, who watched alongside her grandfather, Mesquite Mayor Daniel Aleman Jr. “I’m a huge science nerd, and this is amazing.”

    The weather also cooperated at the last minute near Austin. “I will never unsee this,” said Ahmed Husseim of Austin, who had the eclipse on his calendar for a year. Husseim and his family were among hundreds who gathered on the lawn of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, with blankets, lawn chairs and country music.

    Arkansas and northeast New England were the best bets in the U.S., going into Monday’s spectacle. New Brunswick and Newfoundland in Canada also looked promising.

    The show got underway in the Pacific before noon EDT. As the darkness of totality reached the Mexican resort city of Mazatlán, the faces of spectators were illuminated only by the screens of their cellphones.

    The cliff-hanging uncertainty added to the drama. But the overcast skies in Mesquite near Dallas didn’t rattle Erin Froneberger, who was in town for business and brought along her eclipse glasses.

    “We are always just rushing, rushing, rushing,” she said. “But this is an event that we can just take a moment, a few seconds that it’s going to happen and embrace it.”

    A festival outside Austin wrapped up early on Monday because afternoon storms were in the forecast. Festival organizers urged everyone to pack up and leave.

    Sara Laneau, of Westfield, Vermont, woke up at 4 a.m. Monday to take her 16-year-old niece to nearby Jay Peak ski resort to catch the eclipse after a morning on the slopes.

    “This will be a first from me and an experience of a lifetime,” said Laneau, who was dressed in a purple metallic ski suit with a solar eclipse T-shirt underneath.

    At Niagara Falls State Park, tourists streamed in under cloudy skies with wagons, strollers, coolers and lawn chairs. Park officials expected a large crowd at the popular site overlooking the falls.

    During Monday’s full eclipse, the moon slipped right in front of the sun, entirely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the sun’s outer atmosphere or corona visible, would be long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent, and for planets, stars and maybe even a comet to pop out.

    The out-of-sync darkness lasts up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds. That’s almost twice as long as it was during the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse seven years ago because the moon is closer to Earth. It will be another 21 years before the U.S. sees another total solar eclipse on this scale.

    It will take just 1 hour, 40 minutes for the moon’s shadow to race more than 4,000 miles across the continent.

    Eye protection is needed with proper eclipse glasses and filters to look at the sun, except when it ducks completely out of sight during an eclipse.

    The path of totality — approximately 115 miles wide — encompasses several major cities this time, including Dallas; Indianapolis; Cleveland; Buffalo, New York; and Montreal. An estimated 44 million people live within the track, with a couple hundred million more within 200 miles.

    “This may be the most viewed astronomical event in history,” said National Air and Space Museum curator Teasel Muir-Harmony, standing outside the museum in Washington, awaiting a partial eclipse.

    Experts from NASA and scores of universities are posted along the route, poised to launch research rockets and weather balloons, and conduct experiments. The International Space Station’s seven astronauts also will be on the lookout, 270 miles up.

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    By MARCIA DUNN – AP Aerospace Writer

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  • AP PHOTOS: Total solar eclipse sweeps across North America

    AP PHOTOS: Total solar eclipse sweeps across North America

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    DALLAS — Millions across North America witnessed the moon block out the sun during a total solar eclipse Monday.

    The eclipse’s path of totality stretched from Mazatlán, Mexico to Newfoundland, an area that crosses 15 U.S. states and is home to 44 million people. Revelers were engulfed in darkness at state parks, on city rooftops and in small towns.

    Most of those in North America, but not in the direct path, still witnessed a partial eclipse, with the moon transforming the sun into a fiery crescent.

    Totality’s first stop on land cast Mazatlán’s sparkling beaches into darkness before continuing northeast toward Eagle Pass, Texas, one its first stops in the U.S.

    Total solar eclipses happen somewhere around the world every 11 to 18 months, but they don’t often cross paths with millions of people. The U.S. last got a taste in 2017, and won’t again see a coast-to-coast spectacle until 2045.

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  • Total Solar Eclipse 2024: Can Washington see it?

    Total Solar Eclipse 2024: Can Washington see it?

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    Can Washington see total solar eclipse?

    A total solar eclipse will cross North America next month, briefly turning day into dusk along a path through Mexico, the United States and Canada.

    SEATTLE – A total solar eclipse will cross North America next month, briefly turning day into dusk along a path through Mexico, the United States and Canada. 

    More than 31 million people live in the path of this year’s eclipse, but if you’re not in one of the best viewing locations or if weather is a factor, there are ways to watch it. 

    What is a total solar eclipse?

    A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, completely blocking the Sun’s face for several minutes. When the Sun is covered completely it is known as totality.

    When is it? 

    It’s happening April 8, 2024.

    Can Washington state see it?

    No, but partially.  

    Since Washington and Oregon are well outside the part of totality, you’ll notice a chunk of the sun is being blocked. 

    What is the eclipse’s path?

    The eclipse reaches Mexico’s Pacific coast in the morning, cuts diagonally across the U.S. from Texas to Maine and exits in eastern Canada by late afternoon. Most of the rest of the continent will see a partial eclipse.

    Projected path and time of totality for the 2024 total solar eclipse over Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

    How long will it last?

    Totality will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds in certain spots, twice as long as the full solar eclipse that darkened U.S. skies in 2017. There won’t be another coast-to-coast eclipse in the U.S. until 2045.

    How can I safely watch it?

    If you’re planning to be in the projected path, you’ll need glasses with solar filters, sometimes known as eclipse glasses – with a certification stamp of “ISO 12312-2” – have extra dark film that blocks out the sun to a safe level. Many local libraries and science museums are giving them away for free right now, but the supply will run out.

    For people who are outside of the path, can watch it on NASA’s website. 

    The agency said it plans to stream live coverage of the eclipse online on its website, app and social channels. 

    When is the next eclipse?

    Full solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse, in 2026, will grace the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

    North America won’t experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then that’s it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota.

    The Associated Press and FOX Weather contributed to this report.

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  • Small town businesses embrace total solar eclipse crowd, come rain or shine on Monday

    Small town businesses embrace total solar eclipse crowd, come rain or shine on Monday

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    WAXAHACHIE, Texas — The last time a total solar eclipse passed through this Texas town, horses and buggies filled the streets and cotton fetched 9 cents a pound. Nearly 150 years later, one thing hasn’t changed: the threat of clouds blocking the view.

    Overcast skies are forecast for Monday’s cosmic wonder across Texas, already packing in eclipse chasers to the delight of small town businesses.

    As the moon covers the sun, daytime darkness will follow a narrow corridor — from Mexico’s Pacific coast to Texas and 14 other states all the way to Maine and the eastern fringes of Canada. The best U.S. forecast: northern New England.

    Like other communities along the path of totality, Waxahachie, a half-hour’s drive south of Dallas, is pulling out all the stops with a weekend full of concerts and other festivities.

    It’s the region’s first total solar eclipse since 1878. The next one won’t be for almost another 300 years.

    “I feel so lucky that I don’t have to go anywhere,” the Ellis County Museum’s Suzette Pylant said Saturday as she welcomed visitors in town for the eclipse. “I get to just look out my window, walk out my door and look up.”

    She’s praying the weather will cooperate, as are the owners of all the shops clustered around the historic courthouse made of red sandstone and pink granite in the center of town. They’re bracing for a few hundred thousand visitors for Monday’s 4 minutes, 20 seconds of totality, close to the maximum of 4 minutes, 28 seconds elsewhere on the path.

    The Oily Bar Soapery is hosting a Bubble Blackout all weekend, with eclipse-themed soaps and giveaways. Among the handmade soaps: “Luna,” “Solar Power,” “Mother Earth” and “Hachie Eclipse of the Heart.”

    The next one is centuries away “so we figured we’d go all out,” explained owner Kalee Hume.

    Nazir Moosa, who owns the Celebrity Cafe and Bakery, winced when he heard the weather report, but noted: “It’s weather. You can’t control it.”

    North of Austin, Williamson County residents hope the eclipse puts the area’s new park on the map. The River Ranch County Park, which opened in July on the outskirts of the city of Liberty Hill, is sold out and ready to host hundreds on Monday

    “It still has that new park smell,” said Sam Gibson, the park’s assistant office administrator.

    Stacie Kenyon is inviting people to watch the eclipse from her Main Street Marketplace in the heart of Liberty Hill’s historic downtown — and escape inside the boutique if it rains.

    “We were really hopeful, but now with this weather it is kind of a bummer,” Kenyon said. “We will just have to wait and see.”

    In Waxahachie, there’s a sense of deja vu around the town of 45,000 residents.

    A banner in the museum’s front window, displaying newspaper headlines from the July 29, 1878, eclipse, detailed the cloudy skies all morning. But just before the moon lined up between the sun and Earth that afternoon, the sky cleared.

    Visiting from Campbell, California, Ed Yuhara studied weather patterns before settling on northern Texas to view the eclipse with his wife, Paula, and a few friends. “It turns out it will be the exact opposite,” he said while touring the museum.

    He was in Oregon for October’s “ring of fire” solar eclipse, but got rained out.

    Rain or shine, the Yuharas and friend Liz Gibbons plan on celebrating. “It’s a visual and physical experience and at my age, which is 75, I will never see one again,” Gibbons said.

    Totality won’t sweep across the U.S. like this again until 2045, sidestepping almost all of Texas.

    “It just blows me away,” Moosa said as he served up a large breakfast crowd. “The hotels rooms are booked and everything else … it’s very good news for Waxahachie.”

    ___

    AP reporter Acacia Coronado contributed from Liberty Hill, Texas.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • 6 inmates who sued New York over its prison lockdown order will get to view solar eclipse after all

    6 inmates who sued New York over its prison lockdown order will get to view solar eclipse after all

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    NEW YORK — Six inmates who sued New York’s corrections department over its decision to lock down prisons during next Monday’s total solar eclipse will get to watch the celestial event after all.

    Lawyers for the six men incarcerated at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in upstate New York said Thursday that they’ve reached a settlement with the state that will allow the men to view the solar eclipse “in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

    They filed a federal suit last week arguing the April 8 lockdown violates inmates’ constitutional rights to practice their faiths by preventing them from taking part in a religiously significant event. The six men include a Baptist, a Muslim, a Seventh-Day Adventist, two practitioners of Santeria, and an atheist.

    Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the corrections department, said the department has agreed to permit the six individuals to view the eclipse, while plaintiffs have agreed to drop their suit with prejudice.

    “The lawsuit came to an appropriate resolution,” he added in an emailed statement,

    The department said earlier this week that it takes all requests for religious accommodations under consideration and that those related to viewing the eclipse were currently under review.

    Daniel Martuscello III, the department’s acting commissioner, issued a memo last month ordering all incarcerated individuals to remain in their housing units next Monday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., which are generally the normal hours for outdoor recreation in prisons.

    He said the department will distribute solar eclipse safety glasses for staff and inmates at prisons in the path of totality so they can view the eclipse from their assigned work location or housing units.

    Communities in western and northern reaches of the state are expected to have the best viewing of the moment when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking the sun.

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  • One Tech Tip: How to use apps to track and photograph the total solar eclipse

    One Tech Tip: How to use apps to track and photograph the total solar eclipse

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    Monday’s total solar eclipse might become one of the most filmed and photographed events of the year.

    As the moon passes in front of the sun, plunging a swath of North America into a few minutes of darkness, throngs will take pictures or videos of the moment. But powerful solar rays and drastic changes in lighting pose unique challenges in catching that perfect image.

    Here are some pointers on how to get the best shot:

    First, get in the right position. You’ll want to be as close as possible to the path of totality, which passes over Mexico’s Pacific coast and ends in eastern Canada. Fifteen U.S. states get to see the full eclipse.

    There are online maps to check if you’ll be anywhere near the path. NASA’s map shows how many minutes of totality there will be if you’re inside the path depending on location, and how much of a partial eclipse you’ll see if you’re outside of it.

    For spectators in Mexico and Canada, eclipse expert Xavier Jubier’s website overlays the eclipse’s path on Google Maps, which allows zooming into street level detail.

    Be ready to adapt to changing weather conditions. Use weather forecast and cloud coverage apps, including ones from the National Weather Service and Astrospheric, on the morning or the day before to find locations with clearer skies.

    With so many factors in play including cloud cover and the sun’s position in the sky, planning is key to getting the best image.

    There are a host of smartphone apps for eclipse chasers. The American Astronomical Society has compiled a list of useful ones for both iOS and Android devices, including its own Totality app that shows your location on a map of the totality path.

    The Solar Eclipse Timer uses your phone’s GPS to play an audio countdown to the moment of totality and highlights key moments. The app’s maker advises using a separate phone for taking photos.

    Eclipse Calculator 2 for Android devices uses the phone’s camera to depict how the event will look in the sky from your position, using lines overlaid on top of the camera image. For iPhone users, apps like Sky Guide and SkySafari have eclipse simulators. There are other iOS apps that use augmented reality to simulate the eclipse, but they’re pricier and not yet on the society’s list.

    Digital SLR cameras will produce the best photos. Their manual exposure controls and ability to add zoom lenses and accessories like remote shutter buttons will let you make great pictures.

    Associated Press chief photographer Julio Cortez advises using a smaller aperture — f11 or f17 — to keep the focus “a little bit sharper.” When he shot the 2017 total solar eclipse, he used an ISO setting of 1250 and 1/500 shutter speed.

    The rest of us have our smartphones.

    NASA published detailed guidelines for smartphone eclipse photography in 2017 with the caveat that “smartphones were never designed to do sun and moon photography.” That’s because the wide-angle lenses on most devices won’t let you capture close-up detail. But new phones released since then come with sophisticated sensors, multiple lenses and image stabilization software that give a better chance.

    Some experts suggest HDR, or High Dynamic Range, mode, which takes a series of pictures at different light levels and then blends them into a single shot — ideal for combining an eclipse’s very dark and very bright areas.

    But don’t use flash. You can spoil the moment by ruining the vision of those around you whose eyes have adapted to darkness.

    The American Astronomical Society advises using a solar filter to protect cameras against intense sunlight and heat.

    You can buy a filter that screws onto DSLR lenses, but it will take time to remove when totality happens. Cortez made his own with cardboard, tinted film and fasteners that he can quickly rip off.

    For smartphones, you can use a spare pair of eclipse glasses and hold it over the lens, or buy a smartphone filter. There’s no international standard, but the society’s website has a list of models it considers safe. Make sure macro mode is not on.

    If you plan to shoot for an extended time, use a tripod. To line up his camera after mounting it on a tripod, Cortez uses a solar finder, which helps locate the sun without damaging your eyes or equipment.

    Cortez also advises bringing a white towel to cover up your gear after setting up to keep it from overheating as you wait for the big moment.

    It’s very tempting to make a TikTok or Instagram-friendly eclipse video. Perhaps you want to selfie video, narrating into the camera while the cosmic ballet between sun and moon plays out over your shoulder.

    Be careful: While you might think your vision isn’t at risk because you’re not looking at the sun, your phone’s screen could reflect harmful ultraviolet light, eye experts have warned.

    And if you’re using a solar filter on the selfie camera, it will turn the picture dark and you won’t show up.

    ___

    Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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  • Canada’s Niagara region declares a state of emergency to prepare for an influx of eclipse viewers

    Canada’s Niagara region declares a state of emergency to prepare for an influx of eclipse viewers

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    Tourists on the American side of Niagara Falls take photos in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Friday, March 29, 2024. Ontario’s Niagara Region has declared a state of emergency as it readies to welcome up to a million visitors for the solar eclipse on April 8. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press via AP)

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  • Schools in the path of April’s total solar eclipse prepare for a natural teaching moment

    Schools in the path of April’s total solar eclipse prepare for a natural teaching moment

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    CLEVELAND — Seventh-grade student Henry Cohen bounced side to side in time to the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” playing in teacher Nancy Morris’ classroom, swinging his arms open and closed across the planets pictured on his T-shirt.

    Henry and other classmates at Cleveland’s Riverside School were on their feet, dancing during a session of activities tied to April’s total solar eclipse. Second-graders invited in for the lessons sat cross-legged on the floor, laughing as they modeled newly decorated eclipse viewing glasses. Dioramas with softball-sized model earths and moons and flashlight “suns” occupied desks and shelves around the room.

    Henry said his shirt reflected his love of space, which he called “a cool mystery.” The eclipse, he said, “is a one in a million chance and I’m glad I get to be here for it.”

    For schools in or near the path of totality of the April 8 eclipse, the event has inspired lessons in science, literacy and culture. Some schools also are organizing group viewings for students to experience the awe of daytime darkness and learn about the astronomy behind it together.

    A hair out of the path of totality, the school system in Portville, New York, near the Pennsylvania line, plans to load its 500 seventh- through 12th-grade students onto buses and drive about 15 minutes into the path, to an old horse barn overlooking a valley. There, they will be able to trace the shadow of the eclipse as it arrives around 3:20 p.m. EDT.

    It required rearranging the hours of the school day to remain in session, but Superintendent Thomas Simon said staff did not want to miss out on the learning opportunity, especially at a time when when students experience so much of life through screens.

    “We want them to leave here that day feeling they’re a very small part of a pretty magnificent planet that we live on, and world that we live in, and that there’s some real amazing things that we can experience in the natural world,” Simon said.

    Schools in Cleveland and some other cities in the eclipse’s path will be closed that day so that students aren’t stuck on buses or in crowds of people expected to converge. At Riverside, Morris came up with a mix of crafts, games and models to educate and engage her students ahead of time.

    “They really were not realizing what a big deal this was until we really started talking about it,” Morris said.

    Learning about phases of the moon and eclipses is built into every state’s science standards, said Dennis Schatz, past president of the National Science Teaching Association. Some school systems have their own planetariums — relics of the 1960s space race — where students can take in educational shows about astronomy.

    But there is no better lesson than the real thing, said Schatz, who encourages educators to use the eclipse as “a teachable moment.”

    Dallas science teachers Anita Orozco and Katherine Roberts plan to do just that at the Lamplighter School, arranging for the entire pre-K- through fourth-grade student body to watch it together outdoors. The teachers spent a Saturday in March at a teaching workshop at the University of Texas at Dallas where they were told it would be “almost criminal” to keep students inside.

    “We want our students to love science as much as we do,” Roberts said, “and we just want them understanding and also having the awe of how crazy this event is.”

    Wrangling young children may be a challenge, Orozco said, but “we want it to be an event.”

    In training future science teachers, University at Buffalo professor Noemi Waight has encouraged her student teachers to incorporate how culture shapes the way people experience an eclipse. Native Americans, for example, may view the total eclipse as something sacred, she said.

    “This is important for our teachers to understand,” she said, “so when they’re teaching, they can address all of these elements.”

    The STEM Friends Club from the State University of New York Brockport planned eclipse-related activities with fourth-grade students at teacher Christopher Albrecht’s class, hoping to pass along their passion for science, technology, engineering and math to younger students.

    “I want to show students what is possible,” said Allison Blum, 20, a physics major focused on astrophysics. “You know those big mainstream jobs, like astronaut, but you don’t really know what’s possible with the different fields.”

    Albrecht sees his fourth-grade students’ interest in the eclipse as a chance to incorporate literacy into lessons, too — maybe even spark a love of reading.

    “This is is a great opportunity to read a lot with them,” Albrecht said. He has picked “What Is a Solar Eclipse?” by Dana Meachen Rau and ”A Few Beautiful Minutes” by Kate Allen Fox for his class at Hill Elementary School in Brockport, New York.

    “It’s capturing their interest,” he said, “and at the same time, their imagination, too.”

    Associated Press writer Patrick Orsagos contributed to this report.

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    By Carolyn Thompson | Associated Press

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  • Blind people can hear and feel April’s total solar eclipse with new technology

    Blind people can hear and feel April’s total solar eclipse with new technology

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    WASHINGTON — While eclipse watchers look to the skies, people who are blind or visually impaired will be able to hear and feel the celestial event.

    Sound and touch devices will be available at public gatherings on April 8, when a total solar eclipse crosses North America, the moon blotting out the sun for a few minutes.

    “Eclipses are very beautiful things, and everyone should be able to experience it once in their lifetime,” said Yuki Hatch, a high school senior in Austin, Texas.

    Hatch is a visually impaired student and a space enthusiast who hopes to one day become a computer scientist for NASA. On eclipse day, she and her classmates at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired plan to sit outside in the school’s grassy quad and listen to a small device called a LightSound box that translates changing light into sounds.

    When the sun is bright, there will be high, delicate flute notes. As the moon begins to cover the sun, the mid-range notes are those of a clarinet. Darkness is rendered by a low clicking sound.

    “I’m looking forward to being able to actually hear the eclipse instead of seeing it,” said Hatch.

    The LightSound device is the result of a collaboration between Wanda Díaz-Merced, an astronomer who is blind, and Harvard astronomer Allyson Bieryla. Díaz-Merced regularly translates her data into audio to analyze patterns for her research.

    A prototype was first used during the 2017 total solar eclipse that crossed the U.S., and the handheld device has been used at other eclipses.

    This year, they are working with other institutions with the goal of distributing at least 750 devices to locations hosting eclipse events in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. They held workshops at universities and museums to construct the devices, and provide DIY instructions on the group’s website.

    “The sky belongs to everyone. And if this event is available to the rest of the world, it has to be available for the blind, too,” said Díaz-Merced. “I want students to be able to hear the eclipse, to hear the stars.”

    The Perkins Library — associated with the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts — plans to broadcast the changing tones of the LightSound device over Zoom for members to listen online and by telephone, said outreach manager Erin Fragola.

    In addition to students, many of the library’s senior patrons have age-related vision loss, he said.

    “We try to find ways to make things more accessible for everyone,” he said.

    Others will experience the solar event through the sense of touch, with the Cadence tablet from Indiana’s Tactile Engineering. The tablet is about the size of a cellphone with rows of dots that pop up and down. It can be used for a variety of purposes: reading Braille, feeling graphics and movie clips, playing video games.

    For the eclipse, “A student can put their hand over the device and feel the moon slowly move over the sun,” said Tactile Engineering’s Wunji Lau.

    The Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired started incorporating the tablet into its curriculum last year. Some of the school’s students experienced last October’s “ring of fire” eclipse with the tablet.

    Sophomore Jazmine Nelson is looking forward to joining the crowd expected at NASA’s big eclipse-watching event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the tablet will be available.

    With the tablet, “You can feel like you’re a part of something,” she said.

    Added her classmate Minerva Pineda-Allen, a junior. “This is a very rare opportunity, I might not get this opportunity again.”

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Countdown begins for April’s total solar eclipse. What to know about watch parties and safe viewing

    Countdown begins for April’s total solar eclipse. What to know about watch parties and safe viewing

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    The sun is about to pull another disappearing act across North America, turning day into night during a total solar eclipse.

    The peak spectacle on April 8 will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds in the path of total darkness — twice as long as the total solar eclipse that dimmed U.S. skies in 2017.

    This eclipse will take a different and more populated route, entering over Mexico’s Pacific coast, dashing up through Texas and Oklahoma, and crisscrossing the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England, before exiting over eastern Canada into the Atlantic.

    An estimated 44 million people live inside the 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) path of totality stretching from Mazatlán, Mexico to Newfoundland; about 32 million of them are in the U.S., guaranteeing jammed roads for the must-see celestial sensation.

    The eclipse will allow many to share in the “wonder of the universe without going very far,” said NASA’s eclipse program manager Kelly Korreck.

    Here’s what to know about April’s extravaganza and how to prepare:

    The moon will line up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight. It will take less than 2 1/2 hours for the moon’s shadow to slice a diagonal line from the southwest to the northeast across North America, briefly plunging communities along the track into darkness.

    Fifteen U.S. states will get a piece of the action, albeit two of them — Tennessee and Michigan — just barely.

    Among the cities smack dab in the action: Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis, Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; and Montreal — making for the continent’s biggest eclipse crowd.

    Don’t fret if you don’t have front-row seats. Practically everyone on the continent can catch at least a partial eclipse. The farther from the path of totality, the smaller the moon’s bite will be out of the sun. In Seattle and Portland, Oregon, about as far away as you can get in the continental U.S., one-third of the sun will be swallowed.

    By a cosmic stroke of luck, the moon will make the month’s closest approach to Earth the day before the total solar eclipse. That puts the moon just 223,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away on eclipse day.

    The moon will appear slightly bigger in the sky thanks to that proximity, resulting in an especially long period of sun-blocked darkness.

    What’s more, the Earth and moon will be 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the sun that day, the average distance.

    When a closer moon pairs up with a more distant sun, totality can last as long as an astounding 7 1/2 minutes. The last time the world saw more than seven minutes of totality was in 1973 over Africa. That won’t happen again until 2150 over the Pacific.

    Sunglasses won’t cut it. Special eclipse glasses are crucial for safely observing the sun as the moon marches across the late morning and afternoon sky, covering more and more and then less and less of our star.

    During totality when the sun is completely shrouded, it’s fine to remove your glasses and look with your naked eyes. But before and after, certified eclipse glasses are essential to avoid eye damage. Just make sure they’re not scratched or torn.

    Cameras, binoculars and telescopes must be outfitted with special solar filters for safe viewing. Bottom line: Never look at an exposed sun without proper protection any day of the year.

    Towns up and down the path of totality are throwing star parties. Festivals, races, yoga retreats, drum circles and more will unfold at museums, fairgrounds, parks, stadiums, wineries, breweries and even one of Ohio’s oldest drive-in movie theaters and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    Besides looking up, you can attend a “space prom” in Texas Hill Country, get married at eclipse-themed ceremonies in Tiffin, Ohio, and Russellville, Arkansas, or brush up on moonwalking history at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio — Neil Armstrong’s hometown.

    As the eclipse unfolds, NASA will launch small rockets with science instruments into the upper atmosphere from Virginia and chase totality’s shadow from high-altitude planes. Satellites and the International Space Station crew will attempt to capture the show from space.

    Full solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse, in 2026, will grace the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

    North America won’t experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then that’s it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota.

    There won’t be another U.S. eclipse, spanning coast to coast, until 2045. That one will stretch from Northern California all the way to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

    Aside from Carbondale, Illinois, in the crosshairs of both the 2017 and 2024 eclipses, it usually takes 400 years to 1,000 years before totality returns to the same spot, according to NASA’s Korreck.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Countdown begins for April’s total solar eclipse. What to know about watch parties and safe viewing

    Countdown begins for April’s total solar eclipse. What to know about watch parties and safe viewing

    [ad_1]

    The sun is about to pull another disappearing act across North America, turning day into night during a total solar eclipse.

    The peak spectacle on April 8 will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds in the path of total darkness — twice as long as the total solar eclipse that dimmed U.S. skies in 2017.

    This eclipse will take a different and more populated route, entering over Mexico’s Pacific coast, dashing up through Texas and Oklahoma, and crisscrossing the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England, before exiting over eastern Canada into the Atlantic.

    An estimated 44 million people live inside the 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) path of totality stretching from Mazatlán, Mexico to Newfoundland; about 32 million of them are in the U.S., guaranteeing jammed roads for the must-see celestial sensation.

    The eclipse will allow many to share in the “wonder of the universe without going very far,” said NASA’s eclipse program manager Kelly Korreck.

    Here’s what to know about April’s extravaganza and how to prepare:

    The moon will line up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight. It will take less than 2 1/2 hours for the moon’s shadow to slice a diagonal line from the southwest to the northeast across North America, briefly plunging communities along the track into darkness.

    Fifteen U.S. states will get a piece of the action, albeit two of them — Tennessee and Michigan — just barely.

    Among the cities smack dab in the action: Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis, Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; and Montreal — making for the continent’s biggest eclipse crowd.

    Don’t fret if you don’t have front-row seats. Practically everyone on the continent can catch at least a partial eclipse. The farther from the path of totality, the smaller the moon’s bite will be out of the sun. In Seattle and Portland, Oregon, about as far away as you can get in the continental U.S., one-third of the sun will be swallowed.

    By a cosmic stroke of luck, the moon will make the month’s closest approach to Earth the day before the total solar eclipse. That puts the moon just 223,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away on eclipse day.

    The moon will appear slightly bigger in the sky thanks to that proximity, resulting in an especially long period of sun-blocked darkness.

    What’s more, the Earth and moon will be 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the sun that day, the average distance.

    When a closer moon pairs up with a more distant sun, totality can last as long as an astounding 7 1/2 minutes. The last time the world saw more than seven minutes of totality was in 1973 over Africa. That won’t happen again until 2150 over the Pacific.

    Sunglasses won’t cut it. Special eclipse glasses are crucial for safely observing the sun as the moon marches across the late morning and afternoon sky, covering more and more and then less and less of our star.

    During totality when the sun is completely shrouded, it’s fine to remove your glasses and look with your naked eyes. But before and after, certified eclipse glasses are essential to avoid eye damage. Just make sure they’re not scratched or torn.

    Cameras, binoculars and telescopes must be outfitted with special solar filters for safe viewing. Bottom line: Never look at an exposed sun without proper protection any day of the year.

    Towns up and down the path of totality are throwing star parties. Festivals, races, yoga retreats, drum circles and more will unfold at museums, fairgrounds, parks, stadiums, wineries, breweries and even one of Ohio’s oldest drive-in movie theaters and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    Besides looking up, you can attend a “space prom” in Texas Hill Country, get married at eclipse-themed ceremonies in Tiffin, Ohio, and Russellville, Arkansas, or brush up on moonwalking history at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio — Neil Armstrong’s hometown.

    As the eclipse unfolds, NASA will launch small rockets with science instruments into the upper atmosphere from Virginia and chase totality’s shadow from high-altitude planes. Satellites and the International Space Station crew will attempt to capture the show from space.

    Full solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse, in 2026, will grace the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

    North America won’t experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then that’s it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota.

    There won’t be another U.S. eclipse, spanning coast to coast, until 2045. That one will stretch from Northern California all the way to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

    Aside from Carbondale, Illinois, in the crosshairs of both the 2017 and 2024 eclipses, it usually takes 400 years to 1,000 years before totality returns to the same spot, according to NASA’s Korreck.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • (Base) Path of totality: Guardians’ home opener on collision course with solar eclipse in Cleveland

    (Base) Path of totality: Guardians’ home opener on collision course with solar eclipse in Cleveland

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    CLEVELAND — Talk about high drama.

    By the time the first pitch is thrown at the Cleveland Guardians’ home opener on April 8 at Progressive Field, fans will have seen something more unusual than a no-hitter, more rare than a perfect game and astronomically more exciting than an unassisted triple play.

    It will be truly an out of this world moment.

    At 3:13 p.m. EDT, Cleveland will experience a total solar eclipse — a once-in-generations event — for the first time since 1806, 13 years before the birth of Abner Doubleday, the Civil War hero some have credited with inventing baseball.

    The alignment of sun, earth and moon will plunge the city into darkness, and as long as the maddeningly unpredictable Northeast Ohio weather cooperates, people will view a spectacle that lasts just under four minutes but occurs only three times in a 638-year span above the city.

    The next one isn’t until 2444.

    “It’s a really, really, really big deal,” said Jay Ryan, a self-described “astronomy nerd” and eclipse educator. “It’s hard to communicate to people how big of a deal this is. They’ve seen a partial eclipse in the past, and were like, meh. This is breathtaking.”

    Undoubtedly exciting for many, the eclipse does create some logistical concerns for others, especially the Guardians, who are trying to decide an ideal time to start the opener while balancing transportation, parking and other concerns.

    Cleveland will be jam packed.

    Officials are estimating 200,000 visitors will descend upon the city strictly to view the eclipse, with 50,000 expected to attend an event at the Great Lakes Science Center, where NASA is setting up one of three national broadcasting hubs.

    Throw in any college basketball fans still in town from the NCAA Women’s Final Four from April 5-7, on top of the 35,000 coming to see the Guardians game, and downtown Cleveland will be bursting at the seams.

    The Guardians have started their home openers in recent years with a 4:10 p.m. first pitch. This year, though, that falls in the partial-eclipse window when fans may still be distracted by the overhead phenomenon and not focused on seeing All-Star third baseman José Ramírez step into the batter’s box against the Chicago White Sox.

    The team has spent months weighing whether to embrace the eclipse and open the ballpark early to allow fans to watch it together — an opening act on opening day — or wait until it’s over and play a night game.

    The Guardians, who start on an 11-game trip, are expected to announce their decision on the opener in coming days.

    Ryan believes the social element of the eclipse can’t be underestimated. As he excitedly described the moon’s 124-mile shadow gradually fading and then temporarily extinguishing the sun’s brightness, Ryan said the moment before darkness is overwhelming.

    “The color of the sky goes from bluish, grayish to black,” he said. “And then, boom! Totality. You are in nighttime. It’s heart pounding. It’s exciting. People are screaming. I’ll tell you what, to be with a sports crowd, just imagine someone hitting a grand slam. To be down there with a bunch of fans would be great.”

    There could be one problem: Cleveland’s wacky weather.

    “You had to go there,” Ryan said.

    The Guardians have dealt with snow on opening day before. In 2007, their first four games in Cleveland were snowed out from April 6-9, forcing the team to play its “home” opener in Milwaukee.

    Ryan has been closely monitoring the long-term forecast and Cleveland’s weather history. He feels somewhat encouraged that April 8 in 2020 and 2023 there were “blue, crystal-clear skies,” while also noting that wasn’t the case in 2021 and 2022.

    “It’s a coin toss,” he said with a laugh.

    Who knows. Maybe the eclipse could be a sign of something bigger on the way in Cleveland, which hasn’t celebrated a World Series title since 1948.

    “If we get a beautiful day,” Ryan said. “This is going to beat the 1948 World Series.”

    ___

    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

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