Discover Some Interesting Facts
The longest ground duration of the 2017 totality was 2 minutes 41.6 seconds and occurred at the exact point where the 2024 eclipse will cross the path of the 2017 eclipse. (Wikepedia)
The second eclipses will pass over the path of the first eclipse within 20 minutes each other at midday on April 8th.
The last total solar eclipse to occur on August 21 was in 1914. The next total solar eclipse to occur on August 21 will be in 2734. Neither in the U.S.
The last total solar eclipse to occur on April 8 was in 1642. The next to occur on April 8 will be in 2722. Neither occur in the U.S.
The eclipses are occurring in the middle of the United States over a park called the Bald Knob Cross of Peace where a 111 foot-tall cross was erected as a national symbol of faith. When illuminated at night, the cross can be seen over an area of 7,500 square miles at the most prominent elevation in Southern Illinois.
The cross is surrounded by the Shawnee National Forest. The forest occupies land near the route followed by the Cherokee in December 1838 during their forced relocation in the Trail of Tears.
How Does This Work?
A solar eclipse is really not hard to understand. The moon gets between the sun and the earth blocking the sun from our view. The only thing you can see is the corona (the light emanating from the sun) at full eclipse.
But how amazing is it that the moon is the perfect distance between the sun and earth to create a corona? It perfectly eclipses the sun so they appear to be the same size!
It just happens that we have a sun that is exactly 400 times larger than the moon. But, why does the moon cover the sun so perfectly? Because the sun is also 400 times farther from the Earth than the moon which allows the smaller moon to cover the sun.
It is speculated that Earth may be the only planet to have total solar eclipses given the odds of this correlation occurring.
Where to view the Eclipse?
Path of the April 8, 2024 eclipse
Websites About the April 8, 2024, Total Solar Eclipse
- Eclipse2024.org
- EclipseWise.com
- Eclipsophile.com
- Exploratorium
- GreatAmericanEclipse.com
- NASA Science: Eclipses
Check your State website as well.