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A total solar eclipse is currently visible from the United States, with the dramatic celestial phenomenon sweeping across North America.
It takes the moon's shadow one hour and eight minutes to cross the country from Texas to Maine and across parts of 15 states.
The total solar eclipse darkened the sky in Kerrville, Texas, where a large number of solar eclipse observers from CNN and NASA had gathered at 2:32 p.m. ET. The weather was cloudy, but the moment the sky cleared, the audience cheered and applauded, revealing a spectacular view. Cities and towns across the Midwest were then featured, including Indianapolis and Cleveland, where viewers experienced the thrill of a total solar eclipse.
The eclipse is expected to end on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, at 5:16 p.m. local time (3:46 p.m. ET). Mazatlan, on Mexico's Pacific coast, became the first city to experience totality early Monday. Use our map to see what a solar eclipse will look like and when it will appear in your area.
People directly along the centerline of the total orbit will see an eclipse lasting three and a half to four minutes, according to NASA.
Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
A diamond ring effect can be seen as the moon obscures the sun in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday.
An estimated 32 million people in the United States live within the path of the total solar eclipse, which will be visible to people in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Jersey. Sho. Weather can spoil the fun in Hampshire and Maine.
A few isolated clouds are expected from Vermont to Maine and Missouri to southern Indiana, perfect for eclipse viewing. However, weather may be less than ideal for much of Texas and the eastern Great Lakes.
IIn the Northeast, eclipse chasers are encountering heavy traffic. This morning, Karen Siegel was driving on Interstate 93 near Lincoln, New Hampshire, when she encountered a parking lot-sized traffic jam just outside the total road. It took her five hours to get from Newton, Massachusetts, to Burton, Vermont, instead of three, she said.
“The GPS said it would get me where I wanted to go, but parking at 2 mph was a little scary,” Siegel said.
Michael Zeiler/GreatAmericanEclipse.com
A partial solar eclipse, in which the moon appears to have a crescent-shaped “bite” from the sun, is visible even to those outside the path of totality.
To view the sky safely, don't forget to get certified eclipse glasses or a sun viewer. It is not safe to observe any phase of the eclipse without proper eye protection, unless the moon completely blocks the sun's light. Sunglasses or multiple sunglasses are not effective. The biggest risk of looking at the sun without eclipse glasses or the dark filter of a solar viewer is permanent eye damage, known as solar retinopathy. This condition can get better or worse over time, but it cannot be treated.
Worried that your eclipse glasses are counterfeit? There's an easy way to test the problem. And if eclipse glasses aren't safe or you're worried about your child taking them off, create a simple pinhole projector to join in on the eclipse fanfare.
While the most exciting part of a total solar eclipse is considered to be the total solar eclipse, there are other special stages to be aware of before the big moment arrives.
Aside from the weeks and months of anticipation leading up to the eclipse, a partial solar eclipse, in which the moon slowly moves above the sun, is the longest phase of the phenomenon. This phase can last 70 to 80 minutes.
But the big cue for spectators is about 15 to 20 minutes before totality, when the sky begins to darken and turn an eerie gray.
Several phases then occur in rapid succession, just before the sun's light disappears completely from view.
Heinz Peter Bader/Reuters
Bailey's bead is a short phase of the solar eclipse that occurs just before totality.
Look for droplets of sunlight forming around the moon, known as Bailey beads, as sunlight flows across the moon's craters and valleys. After about 30 seconds to a minute, some of those drops will coalesce to create a sparkling “diamond ring” effect. After about another minute, the moon will appear to be moving completely in front of the sun, and only a white ring of light will be visible as totality begins.
This bright glow belongs to the sun's corona, or hot outer atmosphere, and its faint glow is only visible when the sun's ultra-bright surface is blocked. Astronomers are keen to study the corona with a number of experiments, including high-altitude spacecraft, to better understand the microstructure inside the corona and why it is millions of degrees warmer than the sun's surface. It is.
Totality is the main event, but some points of light belonging to Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and faint light from Saturn may also be visible in the sky near the eclipse.
NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology
Look for points of light representing planets visible in the sky during a solar eclipse.
Horned “Devil's Comet,” or Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, may be too faint to see without a telescope or binoculars, but the lunar eclipse is an important moment to observe on Monday According to astronomers, anyway.
During the fleeting darkness of a total solar eclipse, some diurnal animals may be silent, but nocturnal creatures such as crickets may begin to chirp and move. Scientists are keen to study why animals behave abnormally during the brief moments of a solar eclipse, and the public is being invited to take part in some of the research on Monday.
And during the brief moments of totality, expect local temperatures to drop temporarily.
At the end of a totality, a diamond ring effect appears on the opposite side of the moon, followed by a Bailey's bead, and a partial solar eclipse occurs at the end of a temporary alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth known as a syzygination.
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Fernando Llano/AP
Amateur astronomers are preparing to observe a total solar eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico, on Monday.
Once the total solar eclipse is over, we will have to wait a little while for the next such astronomical observation to take place in the United States.
Those living in Alaska will be able to catch a glimpse of a total solar eclipse on March 30, 2033, with a partial solar eclipse shining over much of the United States during that event.
The total solar eclipse will not be visible again from the continental United States until August 22, 2044, but the total solar eclipse will only occur in North Dakota and Montana, and northern Canada.
However, the next total solar eclipse will occur on August 12, 2045, with a coast-to-coast path spanning the lower 48 states. The path of the total solar eclipse will arc across California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi. , Alabama and Florida, as well as other states, will also see a partial solar eclipse.
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