Have you ever experienced a total solar eclipse? On April 8th, 2024, people worldwide got to experience an event that occurs very rarely. Now, what is a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse is like a fantastic cosmic game of hide-and-seek between the sun, the moon, and the Earth. Picture this: the sun shines brightly in the sky, lighting our world. Then, along comes the moon, cruising in its orbit around the Earth. Every once in a while, the moon gets right between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on our planet. When this happens, it’s called a solar eclipse.
Now, there are different types of solar eclipses, but let’s focus on the most exciting one: the total solar eclipse. During a total solar eclipse, the moon perfectly lines up with the sun, blocking it entirely from view. This creates a moment of darkness in the middle of the day, turning the sky a little mysterious and giving us a chance to see some cool stuff, like the sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, which is usually too bright to see. But not everyone gets to see the total eclipse. There’s a narrow path on Earth called the “path of totality” where the moon’s shadow falls directly, giving lucky people there the whole show. Others outside this path might see a partial eclipse, where only the moon covers only part of the sun.
Some students were allowed to go outside on campus while the eclipse was occurring. Amanda Saeger, 24′ states, “I took a piece of paper and cut a small hole, and I held it out to let the sun shine down on it. The shadow was a crescent due to the eclipse, and it was super cool to see”. Although we did not get to experience the total eclipse, it was still an intriguing occurrence. Places like Mexico and Texas were lucky enough to experience the total eclipse. The eclipse hit around 9:30 local time and made the entire area completely dark for about 20-30 seconds. The next total solar eclipse is supposed to take place in 2044! Until then, we will all have to patiently wait!
