A swath of North America will witness on April 8th a solar eclipse totala cosmic phenomenon that will momentarily leave more than 30 million people in the dark and that, in addition to admiration, will offer a “unique opportunity” for science, NASA executives said this Tuesday.
“Eclipses have a special power. “They move people to feel a kind of reverence for the beauty of our universe,” the NASA administrator stressed today, Bill Nelsonregarding this “rare sight” that was last observed in North America in 2018.
The total solar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth, will have a path of about 185 kilometers of what has been called “total darkness” and will last about an hour, during which people In certain areas they will experience between 3.5 and 4 minutes of darkness. During those few minutes the so-called “corona of the Sun” will be produced.
The journey, from west to east, will begin on the Mexican Pacific coast around 11:07 local time (2:07 PM, Puerto Rico time), and It will be in Mexico where the longest period of darkness will occur: 4 minutes and 28 seconds near Torreón.
The route will then continue through the United States, where it will begin in Texas and continue through 12 other states, and enter Canada through southern Ontario. The path of darkness will leave the American continent through the peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nelson warned to be on the lookout for “unusual behavior” such as giraffes that gallop, roosters that crow or birds that stop chirping and, like other NASA executives, he called on residents to take the recommended safety measures, which include the use of special glasses if you want to see the sky.
“Its power lies not only in uniting us here on Earth, but also for science and discovery,” added the administrator of the US space agency.
He recalled that during the 2018 eclipse, NASA sent the Parker space probe, which will soon be able to approach the deepest part of the Sun and will allow scientists to “measure a lot of new things.”
In turn, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy highlighted that the next eclipse will provide “an incredible scientific opportunity” to observe not only the Sun, but also the Moon and the Earth, “in completely different ways.” different”.
1/17 | Photos: this is how hundreds of citizens enjoyed the solar eclipse in Puerto Rico. This image shows how the annular solar eclipse was perceived in Puerto Rico, which on the island was seen as a partial solar eclipse, around 2:00 in the afternoon.
– Nahira Montcourt
“We are going to obtain surprising, invaluable, scientific information during this eclipse,” he highlighted.
The administrator of NASA's Eclipse Program, Kelly Korreck, highlighted that for this phenomenon the US space agency has not only the twenty satellites that regularly study the star of the solar system, but also rockets, airplanes and hot air balloons, in addition to observations on the ground.
- It may interest you: Relive the coverage of the annular solar eclipse in Puerto Rico, last October 14
He added that the focus of research will be the crown of the Sun, although the eclipse will allow studying the planet's reactions to the lack of sunlight due to the event.
In fact, NASA plans to launch three rockets from Virginia during the solar eclipse to study the disturbances in the ionosphere created when the Moon eclipses the Sun.