Breaking down everything you need to know about the April 8 Solar Eclipse

想想邦妮·泰勒(Bonnie Tyler)的热门歌曲《bet8网页登录》(Total Eclipse of the Heart):美国部分地区.S. 在4月8日经历了自己的日全食. Skywatchers across the globe traveled to 俄亥俄州 and various other states to be treated to a celestial spectacle as a solar eclipse graced our skies. Thousands of people traveled to parts of 俄亥俄州 that were in the path of totality to catch a glimpse of this phenomenon and according to OHIO Astronomy Assistant Tom O ' grady, “this rare event may even be the most observed eclipse in American history.”

在最新一期的“问专家”播客中, O ' grady, George Eberts and Doug 克洛 sit down to discuss everything people should know about the eclipse and share their own experiences and plans. 

什么是日食?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the Earth and the sun, 阻挡太阳光，在地球上投下阴影. 尽管日食是有规律地发生的，不管它们是全食, 每18个月左右部分或环形, the upcoming total eclipse happening over North America will not be seen again until 2099, 讽刺的是，它将直接从雅典上空经过, OH. 

What makes this eclipse so special is how rare it is to have totality in the United States, 尤其是在俄亥俄州. The last time 俄亥俄州 had totality was in 1806 with what is known as “Tecumseh’s Eclipse.“通常, total eclipses occur at the North and South Pole and only slightly cross the middle of the globe. 

“我们从16世纪就知道轨道了^th century to predict eclipses in terms of the moon’s orbit around the earth and the earth’s orbit around the sun,” 克洛, a professor of astrophysics and director of the Astrophysical Institute, explained. “We have eclipses pretty well figured out for the next 200 to 300 years based on tracking orbits and we know exactly where they will be and when. You can go online to various NASA websites and find dates and times of when eclipses will occur. 你甚至可以提前看到日全食的轨迹.”

根据埃伯特的说法, an astronomy assistant who has been studying this alongside O ' grady for over 40 years, we can also go back thousands of years in the past to see when eclipses occurred and where their path of totality was. 

Although being in the path of totality really gives viewers a grandiose show that all three experts explain as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, 在这些区域之外，仍然有办法观看日食.

日偏食, 在雅典将会看到什么, OH, 月球只覆盖了太阳的一部分吗, 形成月牙形的太阳. 

An annular solar eclipse is where the moon appears smaller than the sun, 在边缘留下一圈可见的阳光.

Both types of eclipses are more common to see and still offer an out of this world experience. 

它是如何发生的??

Solar eclipses occur due to the alignment of the sun, moon, and Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth is tilted relative to Earth's orbit around the sun. When these orbits align just right, the moon's shadow falls on Earth, causing an eclipse.

如何安全地观看日食

日食是很有趣的观察, it's crucial to view them safely to protect your eyes from harmful solar radiation. 

“The human eye is not designed to look at the sun, it’s too much light,” 克洛 explained. “If you stare directly at the sun it will cause damage to the back of your eye and even staring indirectly at it can cause damage. The real danger during an eclipse is that when the moon starts covering the sun, 它看起来不那么亮了, 然而, 亮度仍然很强，只是没有那么大. Even at 2% visibility, it is bright enough to burn the back of your eye.”

The following are some options the experts suggested to safely view the eclipse:

使用经认证的太阳能过滤器: Always use eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers that meet the safety standard. Regular sunglasses or homemade filters are not safe for viewing an eclipse.

投影的方法: 如果你没有经过认证的眼镜, you can still enjoy the eclipse by creating a simple pinhole projector. 在一张硬纸板上打一个小洞，把它举到太阳面前, 将图像投射到另一张硬纸板上, 白色的床单或地面.

在线观看: If you prefer not to venture outside or don't have the necessary equipment, 许多天文台和太空机构将对日食进行直播, 让您在舒适的家中安全地享受活动.

克洛 also adds that there is no harm in using your phone or camera to take photos of the event, 然而, it is a spectacle that sometimes can be left up to enjoying without technology, noting that professional photographers and videographers will be able to capture the event much better than the average phone. 

The entire eclipse can last a few hours with the moon moving to cover the sun, 但是一次日全食只持续几分钟. 在那几分钟里, Eberts and O ' grady encourage people to not only use protective actions but to notice what’s going on around you as well. They say to stand under trees and watch the myriad of crescent shapes of the sun fall through the leaves.

你们要留心那些火舌, 或突出物, 人们可以在太阳的边缘看到, as well as look for other planets and bright stars that are out during the daytime that we don’t normally see,埃伯特说.

何时何地观看

The April 8 total solar eclipse will be most visible along a narrow path of totality that crosses North America from southwest to northeast. 日全食将从墨西哥开始, 经过美国的部分地区, 并在加拿大东部结束.

在美国, 日全食将经过德克萨斯州等州, 俄克拉何马州, 阿肯色州, 密苏里州, 伊利诺斯州, 印第安纳州, 俄亥俄州, 宾西法尼亚, 和纽约. 在日全食路径上或附近的主要城市包括杜兰戈, Mexico; Austin and Dallas, Texas; Little Rock, 阿肯色州; 印第安纳州polis, 印第安纳州; Cleveland and Toledo, 俄亥俄州; and Buffalo and Rochester, 纽约.

日全食路径以外的地区, 比如雅典, OH, 会经历日偏食吗, 月球只覆盖了太阳圆盘的一部分. The extent of the partial eclipse will vary depending on the observer's location, with those closer to the path of totality seeing a larger portion of the sun covered.

“对于那些要在全食路线上观看日食的人来说, be prepared for traffic and crowds because people will come to 俄亥俄州 from every continent to see this,奥格雷迪说. “Eclipses were some of the early scientific expeditions that people sought out. 天文学家会漂洋过海去看影子的出现. The only difference now is that it’s everyday people traveling from all over because they are figuring out how unique and different it is. 另外，这次日食的营销力度前所未有.” 

Members of the OHIO community can take part in events to watch the eclipse on our 雅典 campus, 还有几个地区的校园.

• 在爪印公园的雅典校园举行的日食观看派对
• 在赞斯维尔校园举办月食观看派对
• 奇利科校园的月食观看派对

本文最初发表于2024年4月4日. 最后更新于2024年5月10日.