A genuine wonder of existence

April 4, 2024

“What terror is this that overwhelms you?… The sun is obliterated out of the sky… a lethal mist spreads all across the earth!” – Homer’s Odyssey describing a solar eclipse in 1178 BCE

On April 8, 2024, the Sun will once again be obliterated from the sky, but I hope that you experience excitement instead of terror. Fortunately, we now live in an age where science allows us to understand how the Solar system plays this trick and—while the uncertainty of how it happens no longer lingers—the majestic spectacle is still a genuine wonder of existence.

We are fortunate; Earth sits in a Goldilocks zone where liquid water and the Sun’s energy allow life to thrive, but we also have a Moon just the right size, shape, and distance away that once in a while its shadow perfectly and momentarily blocks the Sunlight, plunging us into a darkness. This celestial fluke only happens on Earth. When humans colonize Mars we will not only leave behind the gifts of a living planet, we will also leave behind the beauty of a Total Solar Eclipse. Instead, a Martian Solar Eclipse looks like a potato rolling across a yellow plate.

The USA experienced a total solar eclipse in 2017, and it happens again this year; but we’ll have to wait for 2044 for the next one, followed quickly by another in 2045. Since we will have to wait a long time for the next eclipse it would be great if we could be understanding/accommodating of colleagues and students who want to experience this year’s eclipse.

Our 2024 eclipse starts at about 2 p.m. when the Moon takes its first nibble out of the Sun. What happens next depends on your location, but it peaks soon after 3 p.m. and ends around 4 p.m.

If you stay on campus you’ll experience a partial solar eclipse. Look at the crescent-shaped light amongst the shadows—these are images of our Sun as the Moon greedily takes increasingly bigger bites. The 1% of the Sun visible from campus soon after 3 p.m. will be too bright to allow us to see the Sun’s atmosphere. Eye protection is needed to keep watching the Sun. The sky will darken—it won’t get completely dark—then it will gradually brighten.

If you want to experience the best of the eclipse, then you need to move into the path of totality which is shown between the pink lines on this map. You should check weather to consider clear spots, click on Ohio or Indiana to see where you might attend public events, and consider joining Physics Club, which is hosting an event with limited space. If you are in the path of totality, you’ll initially experience the same as features as those on campus—hearing the birds welcome the diurnal-dusk, crescents dancing between shadows—but during totality you’ll benefit from complete darkness. For a few fleeting minutes remove your eclipse glasses and look up at the Sun’s atmosphere streaming away from the Moon. You’ll see a bright “star” slightly closer to the horizon—that’s the planet Venus—possibly you’ll also see Jupiter. You will also be surrounded by a 360^o Sunset.

Give yourself a quiet moment to experience the wonders of our Solar System!

Of course, it could be cloudy… that’s life!

Dr. Jonathan Morris
Associate Professor, Physics and Engineering

Photo caption: The pinhole effect showing the crescent shape of the Sun during the partial eclipse phase (Heidrun Schmitzer, 2017).