On April 8, there will be a total solar eclipse that will pass through the United States, Mexico and Canada. A part of the population of these locations is moving to places where it will be possible to see it in its entirety. But is the event really that rare?
The total phenomenon takes place, on average, every 18 months somewhere on the planet. The difficult thing is to go through the same point. Therefore, it may be that in the general imagination it is something that only happens over a period of many years.
In a specific city, the total solar eclipse is only visible every 374 years. In Rio de Janeiro, for example, the last one was 30 years ago.
“To give you an idea, the next solar eclipse in Rio will be annular, when a ring of light appears around the Moon covering the Sun, and will only happen in 2164”, says Ricardo Ogando, astrophysicist at the National Observatory.
However, there is a greater probability of an eclipse happening in the northern hemisphere, since in the summer in that area, when the days are longer, the Sun is further away and appears smaller. Therefore, the chance of the Moon covering the star completely and causing a moment of darkness is greater. “But, in 10 thousand years, the configuration of the orbits changes and the South starts to have more eclipses”, says Ogando.
Even though it is not as rare as it seems, the phenomenon always generates commotion. The astronomer from the National Observatory confessed that he traveled to watch the annular eclipse in October 2023. “I went to Carnaúba dos Dantas (RN) to observe the eclipse and participate in the transmission to the internet”, he commented.
And he recalled: “If any reader is in the eclipse region, always remember to observe safely, using special glasses for this purpose. It is never safe to look at the Sun.”
More than 30 million people will see the total eclipse in April
In April's total solar eclipse, NASA expects the event to be seen across practically the entire United States. But only 31.6 million people will see the phenomenon in full, the rest will only be able to appreciate it partially.
The bad news is that the eclipse will not be visible in Brazil. However, NASA (United States Space Agency) will make several broadcasts available for the whole world to follow the event.
O The event will begin at 4pm (Brasília time), on the coast of Mexico, and end at 5pm (Brasília time), on the Atlantic coast of Canada . See what broadcasts are available.
What is a solar eclipse?
Eclipses happen when an object in space, such as a planet or Moon, passes through the shadow of another celestial body in space. On Earth, we can see the lunar and solar.
Solar occurs when the Moon is positioned between the Sun and the Earth, preventing light from reaching some points on our planet. Being in a place where it is total, it is possible to see the Moon blocking almost all the Sun's rays, making the day as dark as the night.
Total solar eclipses happen every 18 months and last a few minutes, while partial solar eclipses — in which the Moon does not completely cover the Sun — occur at least twice a year somewhere on Earth.
The phenomenon is classified into three types:
- Total solar eclipse: Visible only in a small area of the Earth, when the person is in the center of the Moon's shadow, when it hits the Earth. For a total eclipse to occur, the Sun, Moon and Earth must be completely aligned.
- Partial solar eclipse: It happens when the Sun, Moon and Earth are not exactly aligned. The Sun appears to have a dark shadow on a small part of its surface.
- Annular solar eclipse: This is when the Moon is furthest from Earth and appears smaller. Because it does not block all view of the Sun, the Moon looks like a dark disk in front of the star.
- Hybrid solar eclipse: When there is more than one type of solar eclipse on the same day, it is the rarest type there is.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
