A rare moment in history rises in the sky as the moon and sun “collide” to create a special celestial moment: a solar eclipse. Such a moment occurs when the earth and moon align with the sun, covering it, creating a special phenomenon where the sky goes dark in the middle of the day. In a spectacular showing, the sun’s outer atmosphere, or the corona, glows around the moon. This rare occurrence only happens every few decades depending on location. On April 8, North America was lucky enough to catch a glimpse — with special eye protection, of course — of the celestial phenomenon.
While solar eclipses are common in the vast universe, their visible occurrences are not common to those on Earth.
The first recorded appearances on Earth date back to 772 B.C. in China and 750 B.C. in Babylon. These eclipses were once believed to be the product of myths and folktales, symbolizing the moon and sun. However, as science has progressed, the astronomical moment is a unique coincidence when the moon’s orbit aligns with the sun and moon. Although the sun is 400 times bigger than the moon, the moon is also 400 times farther away and therefore appears the same size in the sky when the two meet.
With its last occurrence in 2017, the eclipse made another appearance Monday afternoon from around 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET. In Florida, the eclipse was partial, meaning that at least half of the sun was visibly covered by the moon.
Those in the line of totality, across states like Texas, Indiana, North New York and Canada, got a special viewing of a total eclipse. A total eclipse is when the moon fully covers the sun’s light, apart from its glowing rays; for those in the line of totality, they must be within the area of the moon’s inner shadow, called the umbra. A total eclipse is rare and brought in thousands of visitors to view as the sky turned dark in the middle of the day.
Another eclipse will not occur in North America for another 20 years, until 2040. Thus, this made the occurrence even more special, as the moment brought together people from across the world together as a community.
