2024's total solar eclipse will be a spectacle in the sky with more viewers than ever
Getty ImagesApril's total solar eclipse is being highly anticipated by scientists, eclipse chasers and festival-goers alike.
A total solar eclipse – which happens when the moon crosses paths with the sun, blocking it from view – will take place on 8 April 2024. The eclipse will be first visible in Mexico before making its way across the US and exiting North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland.
What makes the April 2024 solar eclipse so unique?
According to Nasa, this event will be different from past total solar eclipses. Scientists say that the sun's corona (its outermost layer) will be more visible than the last total solar eclipse (in 2017) due to the sun's heightened activity at the time of the event. The 2024 eclipse will also be visible for nearly two minutes longer than 2017's.
Polly White, eclipse chaser and co-founder of the Great American Eclipse, an educational site that shares up-to-date educational eclipse information, maps and animations, says that since the 2017 eclipse, as well as the annular solar eclipse on 14 October 2023, more people are aware of the event. Still, she says there are other reasons why this one will be special: "I am hoping to see a solar corona that will be large, dynamic, with streamers (coronal mass ejections), solar prominences and a bright busy chromosphere."
"Also, there is a slight chance that a comet will be visible with binoculars during totality. It may be far from the eclipsed Sun, but might be visible." After the April 2024 total solar eclipse, watchers won't be able to see another until 2044, making this one all the more enticing, she adds.
The path of totality is longer, too, meaning the eclipse will be visible to more people than the most recent total solar eclipse. About 31.6 million people live in the 200-mile (322km) path of totality – more than doubling the number of people who will be able to see the event since the last of its kind.
Getty ImagesEven people who live elsewhere will be able to see the eclipse in some form: "In April, 99 percent of people who reside in the United States will be able to see the partial or total eclipse from where they live," Nasa states on its website. "Every contiguous U.S. state, plus parts of Alaska and Hawaii, will experience at least a partial solar eclipse."
This highly anticipated astronomical event has more than scientists and eclipse chasers counting down the days. While it will be easier for more people to view the total eclipse without having to leave home than years prior, experts believe there will be a travel surge leading up to the spectacle. The Great American Eclipse predicts one in four Americans are expected to take a trip during the eclipse in order to be within the path of totality on 8 April. With that in mind, travel agents have been helping travellers find out where to stay to catch the best views.
Misty Belles, director of global relations at US-based travel-agency network Virtuoso Travel, says events taking place to help travellers enjoy the eclipse, such as cruises that move through the path of totality, are not hard to come by. "We've seen some of the highest demand has been for South Texas and Northern Mexico, and those areas in the path are poised to see a travel boom," she says. "There's been mounting interest for more than a year as people prepare for this phenomenon that won’t hit the US again for another 20 years."
On Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet, Texas, a five-day music festival will take place the week of the eclipse. The event is fittingly called Texas Eclipse Festival and will feature performances, art, space and technology experiences. Ari Eisenstat, an international futurist at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, will be leading the space program at the festival. He says the event will be centred on the idea of reminding people "that we're in space and we live on a planet". In addition to live music, the event will have curated space experiences, a "visions of the future" zone, yoga and more to bridge the gap between space and the Earth. Eisenstat says 11 astronauts including individuals from Blue Origin, Nasa and SpaceX will be featured speakers at the event.
Other festivals are planned during the week of the eclipse in locations like Bloomington, Indiana, which will host Shadowfest; and Jesieville, Arkansas, where the 2024 Total Eclipse Festival, featuring live music, camping, ziplining and crystal digging, will take place.
Getty ImagesEclipse-viewing safety measures
With so many potential viewers this year, White advises all viewers to wear their eclipse glasses that are ISO certified – except during the period of totality. But she says that, unfortunately, there are uncertified glasses dupes on the market.
"We do have evidence that there are a bunch of fake ones that have that on there," she explains, adding that the Great American Eclipse doesn't encourage people to buy eclipse glasses off of sites such as Amazon. She points people to the American Astronomical Society (AAS) which has a list of safe suppliers for wide-eyed watchers.