West Plains, Missouri – On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cut a narrow path of totality through 13 US states. The town of West Plains is included in the Path of Totality, which will seek to commemorate the rare event through a four-day festival called “Eclipse West Plains: Party in the Path”.
The festival is organized by a community working group led by the city’s tourism department. This working group will develop a calendar of events and activities built around the eclipse, with similar festivals proving to be very popular in 2017.
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“This is a very exciting time for West Plains to have the opportunity to see a natural phenomenon while welcoming many visitors from across the Midwest,” said West Plains Director of Tourism Melissa Wharton. “It’s up to us to show this beautiful region in which we live. I’m on the statewide Solar Eclipse Task Force where I’m learning best practices from cities in Missouri that were on track for totality in 2017. ”
The eclipse will begin at West Plains at 13:54:28 and last for approximately three minutes.
Total solar eclipses occur when the New Moon comes between the Sun and Earth and casts the darkest part of its shadow, the shadow, on Earth.
An otherworldly photograph of a solar eclipse won first prize in this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
The coveted prize is awarded by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in England. Winning photographer Shuchang Dong from China captured the photo during an annular solar eclipse in the Ali region of Tibet on June 21, 2020. Entitled “The Golden Ring,” the photograph looks like this – a circle of light against a gloomy dark sky.
“You feel like you can reach for the sky and place it on your finger,” Judge Steve Marsh said in a press release.
Related: View photos of all astrophotography winners Following: Astrophotography for Beginners: How to Photograph the Night Sky
This is the 13th year of the astronomical photography competition. The winners receive a cash prize and their photographs are on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Dong’s “The Golden Ring” also won first place in the “Our Sun” category of the competition. Other well-known photos in the category show details of the sun’s surface and outside atmosphere.
The winners of the competition come from all over the world. Frenchman Nicolas Lefaudeux won first prize in the “Notre Lune” category, which captured an image of a crescent of Venus rising above the moon of the earth. Third Officer Dmitrii Rybalka won first place in the “Aurora” category for a beautiful green photo of the Northern Lights he took from the deck of a ship near the Kara Strait in Russia. Deepal Ratnayaka from the UK won the ‘People and Space’ category for a dreamy photo of a child against star trails during a COVID-19 lockdown.
“Lockdown” won the “People and Space” category in the 13 Year Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest. (Image credit: Deepal Ratnayaka / Astronomy Photographer of the Year 13)
The winners took advantage of their astronomical views from very different points of view. For “The Milky Ring”, a 360 degree view of the Milky Way who won the “Galaxies” category, Chinese photographer Zhong Wu stitched together images taken in Sichuan and Qinghai, China, and Lake Pukaki, New Zealand. The winner of “Skyscapes” shows the moonrise over Death Valley National Park, an image that forced American photographer Jeffrey Lovelace to walk on the sand dunes after sunset.
Some shots required photographers to be in exactly the right place at the right time: the winner of “Planets, Comets and Asteroids” was taken by American photographer Frank Kuszaj, who was trying to photograph distant galaxies when a meteor fireball quadrantide blew past its goal. . Others took days and days of image capture to create the final photo. The winner of the “Stars and Nebulae” category, American Terry Hancock, spent seven days photographing the California nebula to create his winning image in vivid colors.
The “Youth” award was won by the 15-year-old Chinese photographer 至 璞 王, who photographed the planets of the solar system over the course of a year and sewn them into a ‘family photo’. Two other special awards were also presented: the Manju Mehrotra Family Trust Award for Best Newcomer, which went to novice astrophotographer Paul Eckhardt of the United States for his photograph of the Falcon 9 rocket exploding by the moon, and the award Annie Maunder for the image Innovation, which is given for the best imagery produced with publicly available data. This prize was shared between two laureates: Leonardo Di Maggio from the United Kingdom, for his mosaic of images of Saturn from the Cassini mission; and Sergio Díaz Ruiz from Spain, for a colorful view of Jupiter’s clouds made from images from the Hubble Telescope.
This year’s awards ceremony was virtual and took place on September 16. A video of the ceremony is available online.
An otherworldly photograph of a solar eclipse won first prize in this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
The coveted prize is awarded by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in England. Winning photographer Shuchang Dong from China captured the photo during an annular solar eclipse in the Ali region of Tibet on June 21, 2020. Entitled “The Golden Ring,” the photograph looks like this – a circle of light against a gloomy dark sky.
“You feel like you can reach for the sky and place it on your finger,” Judge Steve Marsh said in a press release.
Related: View photos of all astrophotography winners
This is the 13th year of the astronomical photography competition. The winners receive a cash prize and their photographs are on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Dong’s “The Golden Ring” also won first place in the “Our Sun” category of the competition. Other well-known photos in the category show details of the sun’s surface and outside atmosphere.
Related: See All The 13 Astronomical Photographer of the Year Contest Winners
The winners of the competition come from all over the world. Frenchman Nicolas Lefaudeux won first prize in the “Notre Lune” category, which captured an image of a crescent of Venus rising above the moon of the earth. Third Officer Dmitrii Rybalka won first place in the “Aurora” category for a beautiful green photo of the Northern Lights he took from the deck of a ship near the Kara Strait in Russia. Deepal Ratnayaka from the UK won the ‘People and Space’ category for a dream photo of a child against star trails during a COVID-19 lockdown.
“Lockdown” won the “People and Space” category in the 13 Year Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. (Image credit: Deepal Ratnayaka / Astronomy Photographer of the Year 13)
The winners took advantage of their astronomical views from very different points of view. For “The Milky Ring”, a 360 degree view of the Milky Way who won the “Galaxies” category, Chinese photographer Zhong Wu stitched together images taken in Sichuan and Qinghai, China, and Lake Pukaki, New Zealand. The winner of “Skyscapes” shows the moonrise over Death Valley National Park, an image that forced American photographer Jeffrey Lovelace to walk on the sand dunes after sunset.
Some shots required photographers to be in exactly the right place at the right time: the winner of “Planets, Comets and Asteroids” was taken by American photographer Frank Kuszaj, who was trying to photograph distant galaxies when a meteor fireball quadrantide blew past its goal. . Others took days and days of image capture to create the final photo. The winner of the “Stars and Nebulae” category, American Terry Hancock, spent seven days photographing the California nebula to create his winning image in vivid colors.
The “Youth” award was won by 15-year-old Chinese photographer 至 璞 王, who photographed the planets of the solar system over the course of a year and sewn them into a ‘family photo’. Two other special awards were also presented: the Manju Mehrotra Family Trust Award for Best Newcomer, which went to novice astrophotographer Paul Eckhardt of the United States for his photograph of the Falcon 9 rocket exploding by the moon, and the award Annie Maunder for the image Innovation, which is given for the best imagery produced with publicly available data. This prize was shared between two laureates: Leonardo Di Maggio from the United Kingdom, for his mosaic of images of Saturn from the Cassini mission; and Sergio Díaz Ruiz from Spain, for a colorful view of Jupiter’s clouds made from images from the Hubble Telescope.
This year’s awards ceremony was virtual and took place on September 16. A video of the ceremony is available online.
The 13 Year Astronomy Photographer of the Year winners have been announced and they are simply breathtaking. A galaxy ring, lunar dawn, and fortuitous meteor will transport you off the planet and among the stars.
The first prize went to photographer Shuchang Dong with his beautiful and delicate “The Golden Ring” – a snapshot of an annular solar eclipse that took place on June 21, 2020, taken in Tibet.
“Perfection and simplicity, which can lead to a winning image. The square crop has tension with the mystical ring, and the hazy blue sky is complementary to the yellow ring. A true masterpiece, ”said competition judge László Francsics in a statement sent to IFLSience.
This year’s competition, hosted by the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, saw more than 4,500 entries from 75 countries. Other notable winning images include a magnificent view of the Northern Lights captured from the deck of a ship by Third Officer Dmitrii Rybalka, while on watch, a beautiful dawn of Venus on the rocky horizon of the Moon captured by Nicolas Lefaudeux, and an incredible star trail taken during the lockdown by Deepal Ratnayaka.
You can see the winning images in each category below. The finalist and highly recommended photos can be viewed here. All images can be viewed at the exhibition which will open at the National Maritime Museum in London, UK on September 18.
“Another Cloudy Day on Jupiter” – A new render of an image from the Hubble Space Telescope highlights the many different clouds swirling in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
“The Milky Ring” – This magnificent mosaic puts in a single image every part of the Milky Way, our galaxy, visible from Earth. Completed over two years and hailing from China and New Zealand, the composition includes the galactic bulge, the disk, a rogue Jupiter making a surprise appearance, and two additional galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
‘Lockdown’ – 2020 has seen a year of lockdowns and people staying at home around the world and is pictured in this stunning photo where the photographer’s six-year-old daughter and her cuddly toy Max are set against the trail of stars created by the rotation of the Earth. .
“A colorful quadrantid meteor” – The definition of serendipity. The photographer was looking to capture galaxies, not meteors, but his camera was pointing in the right place at the right time, and the camera did not zoom into the galaxy, so the bright fireball was crossing the sky – a quadrantid meteor – was immortalized in this photo.
“Luna Dunes” – A delicate crescent moon in the deep blue sky above the dunes of Death Valley National Park, California makes this landscape composition evocative and almost too perfect.
“California Dreamin ‘NGC 1499” – The California Nebula is captured in this stunning image. These are not the true colors of the Nebula, the image was created by giving specific colors to certain gases (oxygen in blue, hydrogen in green, sulfur in red) creating this rainbow composition and highlighting what is this cosmic cloud made of.
Manju Mehrotra Family Trust Award for Best Newcomer
“Falcon 9 Soars Past the Moon” – A product of absolute dedication. Four hours before the launch of Falcon 9, the photographer downloaded the Photo Pills app, subscribed to flightclub.io, and began intensive research to understand the two apps and locate a location where the arc of flight would overlap the Moon. When the photographer arrived at the launch site, he was blocked by a gate and ended up on another dark road with trees blocking the launch pad. After doing a quick math, it parked and ran a hundred feet in the dark, then the sky lit up as the Falcon 9 flew straight up, banked, and aimed straight at the moon.
“Solar system family photo “ – Zhipu Wang, 15, won in the Young Contest category for his beautiful planetary portrait of the Sun, the Moon and the other seven planets of the Solar System (Earth excluded) made during the Year of the Rat in China.
“As a planetologist, I applaud the work that has gone into creating this photo,” said Judge Dr Sheila Kanani. “I also really like the composition with the Moon on the right side!”
And if you’re in the mood for more glorious images that don’t line the line between science and art but show you don’t even need a line, check out the recent contest winners. Nikon Small World and the Finalists of the Ocean Photography Awards.
This eclipse will affect four countries, with a maximum total duration of 2 minutes 54 seconds.
In China, the first city in the shadows is Jiuquan, whose one million inhabitants will benefit from 51 seconds of totality. The 2 million inhabitants of Baotou will attend 49 seconds, and the 3.5 million in Datong will enjoy 1 minute 32 seconds. Then the totality reaches Beijing, where the city center will experience a totality duration of 1 minute 30 seconds with the Sun at 32 °. Two other notable cities on the way are Tangshan (45 seconds total) and Qinhuangdao (1 minute 56 seconds total).
The shadow then moves to North Korea. It touches the outskirts of Pyongyang, where the whole will last 1 minute 54 seconds at the northern end of the city. The shadow also covers Wŏnsan for 2 minutes 6 seconds.
In South Korea, eclipse watchers are expected to head to the border with North Korea. At this point, totality will last 1 minute 44 seconds with the Sun over open water to the southeast.
Finally, the path leads to Japan, just south of Wajima. Four cities that would make a good base are Toyama, Nagano, Maebashi and Takasaki. They offer total durations of 1 minute 47 seconds, 2 minutes 16 seconds, 2 minutes 13 seconds and 1 minute 57 seconds, respectively.
Unfortunately, Tokyo is just south of the path. From downtown, the Moon will cover “only” 99.5% of the Sun. With so many amateur astronomers in Japan, there is sure to be a huge northward exodus from Tokyo.
July 13, 2037
During this eclipse, only Australia and New Zealand will experience shadow. The maximum duration of the whole is 3 minutes 58 seconds.
The totality arrives in mainland Australia at Geraldton, where it will last 2 minutes 34 seconds. Drive 25 miles (40 km) south and you’ll gain an additional 21 seconds. In almost central Australia, one of the greatest opportunities to photograph the eclipse will be when the totality hits Uluru / Ayers Rock, a massive sandstone rock formation. There, it will last 3 minutes 4 seconds with a Sun 40 ° high in the north-northeast. Any imager on the southwest side of this site could capture the eclipsed sun over Australia’s greatest natural wonder.
Finally, the path meets Brisbane. The southern limit of this city will experience 2 minutes 20 seconds of totality. However, mobile eclipse observers will not stop there. They will continue south, possibly to Rathdowney, for 3 minutes 32 seconds total.
Finally, the shadow contacts the North Island of New Zealand. If possible, view the eclipse from the western end of the island. There, the totality will last 2 minutes 22 seconds with the Sun at 14 ° above an oceanic horizon.
December 26, 2038
As with the previous eclipse, the shadow will only affect Australia and New Zealand. The maximum duration of the whole is 2 minutes 18 seconds.
He enters Australia at Onslow, which is on the west coast of the country. Anyone there will see 1 minute 4 seconds of totality. A good base will be Adelaide. Eclipse hunters heading north from there, possibly to Burra, will enjoy 1 minute 53 seconds total. And in Mallacoota, which is on the southeast coast, the whole will last 2 minutes 9 seconds.
In New Zealand, the Moon’s shadow touches the northern tip of the South Island, as well as the southern part of the North Island. Savvy eclipse hunters could base themselves in the nation’s capital, Wellington, and then head north to the center line near Foxton, where the total will last 2 minutes and 12 seconds.
December 15, 2039
This eclipse will be a difficult acquisition for most people because it only affects Antarctica. The maximum duration of the whole is 1 minute 51 seconds. Shadow misses McMurdo Station, the continent’s largest settlement, only 100 km away. Cruise lines offer tours here, but eclipse hunters will most likely observe the event near its onset, about 600 miles (1,000 km) south of New Zealand. From there, totality will last 1 minute 30 seconds with the Sun 10 ° above the ocean horizon.
April 30, 2041
This eclipse meets five countries. The maximum duration of the whole is 1 minute 51 seconds. The capital of Angola, Luanda, will get 1 minute 47 seconds in total, but the path only meets a few other cities.
The shadow then travels to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Residents at the northern edge of Kikwit who position themselves along the bank of the Kwilu River will see 56 seconds total. Another big city is Butembo, whose southern edge gets 54 seconds.
In Uganda, shadow will cover many small towns. One base is the capital, Kampala, a city of 1.7 million people. From there, travelers can head north to Extreme Adventure Park Busika, where the total will last 1 minute 15 seconds.
In Kenya, Nairobi offers plenty of accommodation, but visitors can head to Kitale, where the whole will last 1 minute 1 second. Nature lovers will be able to observe from Wamba, where the totality will last 47 seconds. The city lies just north of Samburu National Preserve and Buffalo Springs National Preserve, both of which contain rich populations of wildlife.
The total duration in Somalia is 55 seconds at the western border of the country and 48 seconds at the edge of the Somali Sea. Unfortunately, few towns and villages lie along the way.
The “Blue Moon” of August 22, 2021 will be blue in name only.
getty
There is something about seeing the Moon in a different color – and even more so about seeing its eclipse of the Sun – that really stirs the human imagination. And yet, the “Blue Moon” of the coming week will not be really blue.
A term to describe the third full moon of a season containing four, the full “sturgeon blue moon” on Sunday, August 22, 2021 will be little different, visually speaking, from any other.
Despite this, if you get the timing right, the sight of a dramatic moonrise is hard to beat. So what Is beat him? Why, a “Blood Moon” and, much more, a total solar eclipse, of course!
With a “Blue Moon” looming and the second eclipses season of 2021 just a few months away, here’s a reminder of when the Moon will do something special the rest of the year:
A photo taken on Jan. 31, 2018 shows the moon during a lunar eclipse, called a “super … [+] blue blood moon “in the sky over the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul. – Sky watchers were hoping for a rare lunar eclipse that combines three unusual events – a blue moon, a super moon and a total eclipse – which was to make a large crimson moon visible in many corners of the globe (Photo by YASIN AKGUL / AFP) (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
1. A full “blue moon”
When: twilight on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 August 2021
Where to look: rising east
Although some believe that a “Blue Moon” is the second full moon of the same month, astronomically it is actually the third of four full moons in a single season.
Technically full at 12:02 PM Universal Time on Sunday August 22, 2021 but visible as a nearly full orb on two successive evenings, wait for dusk and look southeast for the exquisite sight of a rising full “Blue Moon”. Don’t expect him to look blue.
Like all rising full moons, it will turn a beautiful orange to yellow as it rises in the night sky as it clears up.
A total lunar eclipse “blood moon” from 2019.
AFP via Getty Images
2. A “Frozen Half-Blood Moon Eclipse”
When: twilight on Friday, November 19, 2021
Where to look: rising east
The second “Eclipse Season” of 2021 will begin with a full “Frost Moon” on November 19, 2021, which will technically be a partial lunar eclipse. However, it is woefully close to being a total lunar eclipse similar to May’s “Super Flower Blood Moon”.
Seen from North and South America, Australia, and Asia, 97% of the lunar surface will turn slightly pinkish-red as most of the Moon falls into Earth’s shadow in the ‘space.
People observe the total solar eclipse in the city of Bella Vista, San Juan, Argentina on July 3 … [+] 2019.
Getty Images
3. A total solar eclipse in Antarctica
When: just after dawn on Saturday, December 4, 2021
Where to search: southeast (only from Antarctica)
Solar eclipses can only occur on the New Moon, when the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, and like clockwork, they occur two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.
The best naked eye view of nature? If you’ve even experienced (“seen” is too one-dimensional) a total solar eclipse, you’ll be anxious to know when the next one is. International travel is tough this year, of course, but be sure to follow online as the lucky few will be able to see, feel and experience “the totality” on December 4, 2021.
Very likely to be seen from a cruise ship on the Wedell Sea – or an airplane in the sky above – this total solar eclipse in Antarctica promises to be very dramatic if there is a clear sky.
An eclipse takes place when a celestial body such as a moon or a planet moves in the shadow of another celestial body. Here on Earth, we can experience two types of eclipses: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.
A lunar eclipse is a special event that occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon come in a straight line and the Earth blocks the sun’s rays from reaching the lunar surface. There are three types of lunar eclipses: total, partial and penumbra.
However, the first lunar eclipse of 2021 occurred on May 26. Read on to learn more about the second lunar eclipse of the year.
Lunar eclipses 2021: November 18-19 (partial lunar eclipse)
It would be a partial lunar eclipse, which begins at 11:32 a.m. and ends at 6:33 p.m.
November 2021 lunar eclipses: visibility
The penumbral lunar eclipse would be visible across much of Europe, much of Asia, Australia, North Africa, West Africa, North America , South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Arctic.
Different types of lunar eclipses
Total lunar eclipses: A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth’s shadow covers the entire surface of the Moon. According to nasa.gov, “A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on exactly opposite sides of the Earth.”
Partial lunar eclipses: A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only part of the Moon’s surface is obscured by Earth’s shadow.
Penumbral lunar eclipses: When the Moon passes through the faint penumbra of Earth’s shadow, a penumbral lunar eclipse occurs.
At least two partial lunar eclipses occur each year, but total lunar eclipses are rare. It is safe to watch a lunar eclipse.
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Thanks to NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Image Camera (EPIC), new images of the moon’s shadow surfaced during the solar eclipse that occurred in the Arctic region on July 10.
The phenomenon involved the moon blocking the front part of the Sun. Many people, especially those residing in Canada, Russia and Greenland, may have witnessed the unusual eclipse
What the moon’s shadow looks like in EPIC’s view
(Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) EPIC’s view of the moon’s shadow above the Earth
According to the recent Gizmodo report on Friday. On July 23, the scenario that unfolded in July was called a “total annular” eclipse, according to the international space agency.
From the planet, the position of the moon is located at a distant point. Of here, the Sun we usually see in the sky would appear larger than the moon.
From the photograph, the moon’s dark disk appears to be surrounded by the Sun. NASA noted that the Sun looks like a “ring of fire” at this position during alignment.
NASA’s explanation of the recent phenomenon
EPIC’s view of the moon’s shadow isn’t magical since science has an explanation for everything. For this part, NASA has now revealed the trick on how the shadow of the moon came with such an appearance.
From the video uploaded by the space agency, the phenomenon is simplified thanks to an explanation of the distance between the three cosmic bodies.
NASA said what we saw as the red part of the Sun during the blocking process could take three hours. According to the team, the duration of the moon to move away from the Sun will take almost three hours.
Also Read: NASA’s Juno Probe Listens While Jupiter’s Moon Io Emits Radio Waves
What is the NASA EPIC instrument
NASA’s EPIC tool is not your usual camera. It is a hybrid of a telescope and a camera. Nerdist called this a “combo” instrument.
Currently, NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory or DSCOVR is home to the equipment. Although the phenomenon seems far from achieved, EPIC has been able to spot unique images of Earth a million kilometers away.
In 2015, NASA’s EPIC released a spectacular photo of Earth called “Blue Marble”. He was captured during the Apollo 17 mission.
In the same year, the combo instrument succeeded in having a new vision of the appearance of the Earth. At that time, EPIC was able to show the stunning images of the Earth lit by the sun. The team had taken pictures of the planet every two hours.
“Taking images of the sunny half of the Earth at a distance four times farther than the orbit of the Moon keeps creating surprises, like every now and then the Moon entering our field of view, or the Moon projecting a shadow on Earth, ”NASA’s DSCOVR project scientists Dr Adam Szabo spoke during the agency’s press release.
This is not the first time that NASA has captured the features of the moon. For the past six years, the space agency had released the Earth satellite’s “photobombing” image on July 16, 2015.
Associated article: NASA captures the Moon by photobombing the Earth in new photos
This article is the property of Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
▶ Watch the video: spectacular views of the “circle of fire” solar eclipse It may look like a stain on your screen,…
▶ Watch the video: spectacular views of the solar eclipse from the “circle of fire”
It might look like a smudge on your screen, but the latest NASA released image of our blue marble actually captures the shadow of the moon during the last solar eclipse.
The image, taken on June 10 and released by NASA on Wednesday, shows a blurry dark brown spot over the Arctic. The spot represents the shadow cast by the moon during the eclipse.
The “epic” photograph was taken by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a camera and telescope aboard NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite which takes more than a dozen photos every day. The satellite is in orbit around Lagrange’s L1 point, a point of gravitational equilibrium between the Earth and the sun, located nearly a million kilometers away.
The high-quality images of the Earth taken by the camera are used by scientists to monitor a number of activities on our planet, including vegetation, cloud heights, smoke from forest fires and ozone. But in rare cases, it also captures spectacular views of eclipses.
NASA’s EPIC captured a rare look at a solar eclipse over the Arctic. The image was taken on June 10, 2021. (NASA)
“Taking images of the sunny half of the Earth at a distance four times farther away than the orbit of the Moon keeps creating surprises, like sometimes the moon entering our field of vision or the moon casting a shadow over the Earth, ”said Dr Adam Szabo. , the scientist of the DSCOVR NASA project.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, completely blocking sunlight. During an annular solar eclipse, the moon does not completely cover the sun as it passes, leaving a bright ring of sunlight visible.
Last month, sky-watching enthusiasts in Canada, Greenland and Russia had the opportunity to witness a complete annular eclipse. Parts of the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, the United States, and Africa experienced a partial solar eclipse, which appeared as a magnificent red-orange crescent, known as of “ring of fire”.
“EPIC didn’t have too bad eyesight either,” NASA said.
San Antonio astronomers are in planning mode for an event in another three years. This is because it will be centuries before the city experiences this kind of astronomical event again.
The town of Alamo will see two eclipse events – an annular eclipse on October 14, 2023 and a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. The six-month succession makes this a rare occasion, but that’s not the incentive to both astronomers and astrologers to look to the future.
The northwest side of San Antonio and surrounding Hill Country towns such as Boerne and Fredericksburg lie on the path of the 115-mile-wide total solar eclipse traversing Mexico to Texas and into Maine in three. years. Other cities in Texas, such as Austin and Dallas, will also experience the event.
However, Angela Speck and Chris Packham, both professors in the University of Texas Department of Astronomy in the San Antonio Department of Astronomy, tell MySA that being closer to the US-Mexico border will provide a more unobstructed view. . They describe it as a “once in a lifetime” event for the city.
The San Antonians will experience a sky “as dark as a night of a full moon” for four minutes and 24 seconds, according to Speck. It will be 13:32
Speck was teaching at the University of Missouri and was co-chair of the National Total Solar Eclipse Task Force during the “Great American Eclipse” of 2017. His friends joke that his move to San Antonio two years ago was something to do with the upcoming eclipse. She denies it, but says it’s time to “get serious” about planning for 2024.
She says the local scientific community and museums are in informal discussions about preparing for the eclipse. She hopes to incorporate the event into some of her UTSA teachings while also suggesting that local school districts make plans to highlight the eclipse in the curriculum or work with other campuses to provide areas for learning. observation in the northern parts of the city.
Speck is confident that the UTSA area will be plunged into total darkness. Downtown San Antonio will miss the darkness “by a few blocks,” she said.
Geographer Michael Zeiler, who provides the graphics for the Great American Eclipse website, shared these maps of the trajectory of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. The graphics show the precise movement of the eclipse through the city.
Courtesy of GreatAmericanEclipse.com
In 2017, the San Antonians got special glasses for the eclipse and maybe gave up an hour of work to get to a place to witness the eclipse. While interesting, it was only a partial experience that left residents feeling like they had missed the videos and images that were posted on social media from the maximum point in Missouri.
Speck says residents will finally have their time in the dark in 2024. She describes it as an experience that activates all of your senses. Other living things respond as well.
“You can see the stars, the planets. It’s also colder, because you just blocked the sun,” she adds. “The animals react too and so do the plants, so the bees will stop buzzing, the cows will come home to the barn. It’s a really interesting thing, it’s something you feel not just with your eyes. are all kinds of sensors. “
Speck says the event turns the unfazed into the passionate.
“If you’ve never seen one, it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, what’s the problem,’ she adds. “It’s a completely amazing event and most people who have seen them once, still see them.”
She says it will be centuries before something like this happens again in the city and that this is the first time in hundreds of years that the city of Alamo has been on the way. According to TimeAndDate.com, which provides maps and times of total solar eclipses, the last time the city was near a total solar eclipse path was May 28, 1900 and even at that it was a partial experience. .
If locals become completely mystified by the 2024 event, they may witness it two years later, but will have to fly to Spain or Greenland in time for August 12, 2026.
Packham researched the next US total eclipse experience while Speck and I chatted. His search lasted a few minutes. Finally, he found the date: August 22, 2044. Viewers will have to be near Montana for that one.
As the UTSA team strives to add the eclipse event to their education, Cleveland-based astrologer Catherine Urban examines how the alignment of these celestial objects will affect people and play a role. role in history books.
It is linked to historical events, such as World War I and the abolition of slavery, coinciding with periods of total solar eclipses in the past. She also notes that the 2017 total solar eclipse occurred at a “remarkably divisive time in this country.”
Urban adds another layer: the eclipse occurs shortly after Pluto’s planetary return to the United States after 240 years (using July 4, 1776 as America’s birth date).
“Considering that these eclipses occur following Pluto’s return to the United States, astrologers suspect that these eclipses also reflect a very turbulent period in American history,” she adds.
Astronomers and the astrologer are on the same page about the same thing – the San Antonio area will be a travel destination in April and it will have nothing to do with Fiesta.
“However, the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 will be one of the most miraculous events one can witness,” Urban said via email. “Witnessing a total solar eclipse is sublime depth. Definitely have your glasses ready for viewing! And consider staying the week with a friend and AirBnB-ing in your home. Total solar eclipses will attract visitors from surroundings. Where will you be when the lights go out? “
Speck agrees. She says another added benefit of being in the San Antonio area is the weather. Northerners could see their experience marred by the cloud cover. As someone who has traveled to Argentina to witness a total solar eclipse, she knows a thing or two about eclipse tourism.
“The weather is going to be very uncertain as you go further north along the way. So San Antonio and South Texas will be the best place from a cloud cover standpoint,” she said. “So we’re going to attract a lot of people to Texas, because we spend the most time in the dark in the United States, and we also have the best chance of having no clouds.”
Just like in 2017, websites and memorabilia are already popping up, adding to the hype surrounding the 2024 eclipse. There are T-shirts, binoculars and of course glasses, to promote the event of a lifetime. .
Geographer Michael Zeiler, who provides the graphics for the Great American Eclipse website, sums up the appeal the rest of the world will have for our part of the country.
“Texas will surely be a magnet for a lot of North America and the world,” he says.
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