The total solar eclipse in April will have a longer duration than the one in 2017.

Enrol in CNN’s renowned Wonder Theory science newsletter.Embark on a cosmic journey suffused with engrossing news apropos cutting-edge discoveries, progressive scientific breakthroughs and more..

CNN
— 

On April 8, the spectacle of a total solar eclipse will enthrall onlookers in Mexico and North America. This celestial spectacle—a rarity in these parts—marks the first time such a phenomenon has graced the skies since the nearly seven year hiatus. To experience its return again, stargazers will have to wait until 2044.

Total solar eclipses yield an impressive sight as the moon, in its orbital trajectory, positions itself between the Earth and the Sun, entirely shield the solar disk. However, despite sharing a common phenomenon, slight variations of these events make each unique.

This April’s eclipse shares its path with the previous occurrence on August 21, 2017. Nonetheless, despite the similarities in routes, albeit in reverse and encompassing a wider scope, discernable disparities between the two render the 2024 astronomical play worth anticipation. One crucial factor that distinguishes this year’s spectacle is the demographic set to witness this heavenly marvel.

NASA estimates posit that the 2017 eclipse captivated 215 million adult spectators across the US, both directly and through various virtual platforms.

“This year’s total solar eclipse, visible in all its glory or partially to the entire American nation, encompasses an accessibility that’s unprecedented, making it the most democratic eclipse the country has witnessed in a generation,” gushed Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in her recent statement.

As the path of totality – locales where observers can witness the moon’s umbral shadow completely swallowing the sun – is set to be wider, it ensures a larger audience for the 2024 eclipse. During the 2017 total solar eclipse, the moon’s greater distance from Earth engendered a relatively narrow path of totality, stretching approximately between 62 to 71 miles (100 to 114 kilometers).

With the moon cosier to Earth during this year’s event, the umbra of the moon is anticipated to shadow a broader path across North America, expanding its range from about 108 to 122 miles (174 to 196 kilometers).

Furthermore, the trajectory of the 2024 eclipse closely aligns with many densely populated areas and major cities, unlike its predecessor. With only 12 million within the totality path in 2017, the 2024 eclipse extends its coverage to approximately 32 million, with 150 million residing within 200 miles (322 kilometers) of the path.

Persons residing outside the totality path can still marvel at the partial solar eclipse where the moon merely yokes a faction of the sun. An astounding 99% of the US populace, incorporating regions of Hawaii and Alaska, will afford the spectacle of at least a partial solar eclipse without necessitating any vehicular movement.

Due to the moon’s proximity to Earth, observers will enjoy an extended duration of totality this April, surpassing that of 2017. The totality phase, which is notably fleeting during an eclipse, varies depending on the observation location. Onlookers in proximity to the midpoint of the path are anticipated to bask in the most extended totality, with its extent tapering off closer to the path’s periphery.

In 2017, the fortunate onlookers who enjoyed the lengthiest totality duration were treated to a spectacle lasting for two minutes and 42 seconds in Carbondale, Illinois.

This year, however, for those who venture around 25 minutes northwest of Torreón, Mexico, they will be compensated with the coveted longest totality lasting an extraordinary four minutes and 28 seconds. Even spectators across Texas extending up north to Economy, Indiana, can anticipate a totality exceeding four minutes. Even when the eclipse makes its Canadian passage, viewers will still be awed by a totality duration of 3 minutes and 21 seconds.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest totality in recorded history clocked at a remarkable seven minutes and 8 seconds on June 20, 1955, occurring to the west of the Philippines.

Keen to envisage what this impending eclipse holds for you? Utilize our interactive map to determine your position within the path. Don’t neglect to acquire a pair of eclipse glasses to ensure a safe observation of this celestial event.

While the avid stargazers perceive the eclipse as a celestial treat, scientists view the event as a window offering unique perspectives to study the sun. April’s eclipse will provide researchers with a special vista of the sun during one of its most dynamic periods, contiguously termed the solar maximum.

The sun undergoes a rhythmic 11-year cycle commensurate with its magnetic-field flip that yields heightened solar activity. In 2017, the eclipse transpired as the sun crept towards solar minimum, a phase denoting decreased solar activity.

Forecasts predict that the solar maximum, the pinnacle of solar magnetic field activity, will befall later this year. Scientists await with bated breath the vivid features akin to loops, streamers, and radiant curls anticipated to adorn the sun’s scorching, outer atmosphere, known as the corona, when the moon’s shadow obscures the solar surface during the ensuing eclipse. The corona, albeit fainter than the sun’s radiant surface, is notably discernable during an eclipse, bestowing researchers with amplified observational details.

Simultaneously, the plausibility of witnessing a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), a monumental eruption extruding material from the sun’s surface, cannot be discounted during the eclipse.

Several experiments, scheduled for launch on NASA’s WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft during the eclipse, aim to meticulously study the corona. They aspire to capture never-seen-before details about its structure across an array of light wavelengths.