THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249 usm.maine.edu/planet
43.6667° N 70.2667° W
Altitude: 10 feet below sea level
Founded January 1970
2021-2022: CVII
"Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears." -Les Brown
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, April 8, 2022
Solar Eclipse # 1: Two Years from Today!
Exactly TWO years from today, our region will experience a total solar eclipse. Although one might think that twenty four months represents a long time period, in cosmic terms, it's not even three quivers of a Grungelspurt's flagella. This eclipse is right around the proverbial right angle and so today we begin a year-long series devoted entirely to the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. Unlike the Remote Planetarium, however, this series will be intermittent, not continuous. We'll return to it from time to time until April 8, 2023, when we'll post the last of the Solar Eclipse series articles. If our calculations are correct, we'll then be merely one year shy of this extraordinary event.
Now, a cynical sort might say, "Hey, like, what's the big deal? The moon is going to move directly in front of the Sun. Is it really worth all this hype, hoopla and hysterics?!"
We would respond:
Heavens above, the hype, hoopla and hysterics are certainly not hyperbolic! We haven't experienced a total solar eclipse here since July 1963! To put that into perspective, in July 1963:
- the average price of gas was $0.30
- the cost to mail a letter skyrocketed that year to $0.05
- JFK was President
- and Portland, Maine's population was, well, actually, just about what it is now..
However, 1963 was still quite a long time ago!
Besides, observing a total solar eclipse is a genuinely unique experience. In fact, some people travel the world for the express purpose of watching total solar eclipses. (How many of them will venture into Maine in the storm battered month of April remains to be seen.)
Over the year, we will discuss anything and everything about this eclipse and eclipses in general. Their appearances, frequency of occurrence, the Saros Cycle, safety in viewing, mythological interpretations, definitions, historical significance, totality path, partial eclipse region, timing and many other aspects. Even though this event, meaning totality, will last about three minutes, so much remains to be discussed and explained. Toward that end, we invite you -yes YOU!- to send your questions about solar eclipses in general and what is now being called the Great American Eclipse of 2024 in particular. You might be surprised how intricately detailed and complex solar eclipses science truly is.
Consider this article as our first step through a vast labyrinth of solar eclipse knowledge. Much of it straightforward, some of it a bit less so. For the moment, we're standing in the Sun-drenched Atrium looking up at the unbounded cerulean blue visible through the domed windows. Soon, we'll venture into the depths.
For now, know that we'll experience a total solar eclipse on the afternoon of April 8, 2024. While the eclipse will only be total along a path running through the northern and western parts of Maine, it will still turn the skies dark all around New England and the eastern United States. See image below:
On Monday we'll post Solar Eclipse # 2: Solar Eclipse Basics.
On Tuesday, we'll move onto another topic, but, as mentioned before, we'll be returning to the solar eclipse series many times.
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