Solar Eclipse Explained: What Happens in the Sky During the Stunning Celestial Event

Monday’s total solar eclipse is not just another celestial event. It has earned the nickname the Great American Eclipse because its path cuts across some of the most populated parts of the United States. Solar eclipses happen roughly every 18 months, but many pass over remote stretches of ocean where few people ever see them. This time, however, the moon’s shadow will sweep across 15 states, briefly plunging 32 million Americans into darkness.

Where is the best place to view the eclipse?

What exactly is a total eclipse?

Astronomy author and educator Ed Ting explains that a solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves exactly between an observer and the sun, casting its shadow onto Earth. Because that shadow is only about 100 miles wide, viewers must be in the right location to experience the eclipse in totality.

The sight is made possible by a remarkable cosmic coincidence: from Earth, the sun and the moon appear almost identical in size. “The sun is 400 times bigger than the moon,” Ting said. “But by happy coincidence, it is also 400 times further away. So, from our perspective they are the same size.”

What can happen during a total solar eclipse?

For many eclipse chasers, the wonder is not limited to the sky. As daylight fades, the world on the ground can begin to change in eerie ways. “The wind sometimes starts to pick up,” said Ting. “Animals get confused. The streetlights come on.”

Still, Ting says totality does not feel like ordinary nightfall. “The sky takes on this sort of fish-scaly, shimmery quality, and you will freak out,” he said. “You can understand why the ancients ascribe such spiritual or religious significance to eclipses, because you will feel very strange. Half of the people who see an eclipse for the first time will cry.”

What preparations are being made?

Those living along the eclipse path may notice another effect as well: far more cars on the road.

In Jonesboro, Arkansas, where totality – the moment when the sun is completely covered – will last 2 minutes and 17 seconds, local officials have spent months preparing. Cari White, chairman of the city’s Eclipse Oversight Committee, said Jonesboro could temporarily double in size for the event. “One-hundred-sixty-thousand people might be in town for the eclipse, and we’re very excited about it,” she said. “Our police department, our fire department, city water and light, they’ve all been working for over a year to design a plan.”

Jonesboro is hardly the only community bracing for the rush. “Everywhere, all over the country, [people] are doing exactly what I’ve been doing,” White said. “It’s a big, big deal.”

How to safely view the eclipse

Looking directly at the sun can permanently damage your vision, which is why you need eye protection. Cari White’s committee in Jonesboro ordered 75,000 pairs of special glasses. “We have been working for weeks to pass them out to all the schools, we’ve passed them out at all of the major businesses, the library, the city hall,” she said. “If you don’t have a pair of glasses and you live in Jonesboro, I don’t know how to help ya’.”

But here’s something about the glasses you might not know: According to Ting, “Once totality hits, you can take the glasses off. Because there’s not much light coming from the sun. Once the sun starts to come out again, you do need to remember to put your glasses back on!”

Cameras need protective filters, too. But Ting offers a classic piece of advice for would-be photographers: “See your first eclipse, photograph your second. I have seen this personally where there is an eclipse, and the person is not looking up; they’re fiddling with their camera. And then, before you know it, the eclipse is gone, you never saw it – and you didn’t get the picture.”

What about the weather?

Of course, all the precautions in the world won’t help you if the conditions aren’t right. Asked what she’ll do if the weather is bad on Monday, White said, “I guess I’ll cry. Don’t talk to me about the bad stuff.”

Fortunately, it’s mostly good stuff.

“When you consider that this truly is the Great American Eclipse, because it goes through the center of the United States, it just puts you in awe,” White said. “I just know that it’s gonna be wonderful. And I’m gonna take it all in, every second of my two minutes, I’m gonna take it in and enjoy.”

         
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Story produced by Annie Iezzi. Editor: George Pozderec.