2024 Total Eclipse!

Next year on April 8th there is going to be a rare spectacular event: A total eclipse of the Sun. The best part of it will not be visible here in California so me and my family will be taking a road trip to Texas to see it. Maybe your family can take a trip too?

Here in California it will be a partial eclipse, which is awesome, but not nearly as spectacular. Partial eclipses can only be seen through special light blocking glass. When there is a total eclipse the entire sun is blocked by the Moon, and you can look directly at it. Around the edges of the sun you can see tongue's of fames called prominences. These flames can be several times larger than the earth, and are quite spectacular. You can also see the white stream of plasma gas called the Corona. Did you know that the Sun has an atmosphere? It's much different than the earths of course, but it is indeed an atmosphere. The solar prominences and Corona are both part of the Sun's atmosphere. 

The total eclipse area is a circular shadow that is cast by the moon when it blocks the sun. Because the earth is rotating, and the moon is orbiting, the shadow moves across the face of the earth. For this eclipse, the path of the shadow, called the "path of totality" for North America will start in Mexico, pass through Texas, and continue North and East across Nova Scotia. The shadow will exit North America through Greenland. If you have a view from high up, you can see the circular shadow move across the earth as it travels at over 1600 miles / hour. At this speed, you only have a few minutes inside the shadow to see this spectacular event, so I don't recommend taking any pictures, just enjoy it. 

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/

Here's a photo that I took during the 2017 eclipse (I fully automated it so the camera took the picture while I was able to enjoy it with my own eyes). https://photos.app.goo.gl/HW2aSUxfYi41sFA5A

Can you see the red Prominence's and white Corona in the Suns atmosphere? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF9msdbJROg