A total solar eclipse passed over North America on April 8th, covering parts of the U\.S., Mexico and Canada. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon crosses between the Sun and Earth, causing a darkness almost like dawn or dusk.
Cities such as Montreal, Little Rock and Durango were in the most direct path of the eclipse, experiencing almost 100% coverage, causing a very dark sky. Surrounding areas experienced between 75% and 95% coverage, resulting in an early dusk type of darkness. The latest full solar eclipse took place in summer of 2017. People gathered in areas across the midwest and southern U.S. for a full view. Contrary to this, the 2024 eclipse followed an almost exactly perpendicular path, with the two eclipses forming an X shape if looked at from an aerial view.
“It's wonderful, the excitement of people looking up, we often get so engulfed in the things that happen here down on planet Earth that we take the universe for granted,” physics professor from Columbia University, Brian Greene told CNN.
Safety is one of the most important things when viewing an eclipse, as watching with naked eyes can cause what is known as “eclipse blindness,” this occurs when the eyes do not dilate, due to the concentrated amount of light. The tiny bit of light the moon does not cover is so concentrated that it can cause extreme retinal burns, resulting in permanent damage. This can be prevented with the use of eclipse glasses, which protect the retina.
“Using the sunglasses during the eclipse is so important because radiation from the sun is still coming around the moon, but because of the general darkness your pupils open up more, exposing them to UV radiation,” NHS science teacher Chris Carley said.
Others express concern about the less direct cautions that come with an eclipse. With the dusk - like atmosphere, it's possible animals leaving the woods caused traffic or crashes by walking into the road. Many small towns in the totality range of the eclipse gained thousands of guests, causing food or gas shortages they were unprepared for, yet this greater number of purchases and sales also gave many of these towns an economic boost.
NHS students were given the opportunity to watch the eclipse, with a lesson from NHS science teacher Trent Harrison.
“This eclipse is such an interesting event, we wanted to make sure students had every chance to experience it,” Harrison said.
Newtown had about 92% coverage, which students were able to see with provided eclipse glasses. This helped to support an opportunity for many students to experience the eclipse firsthand.
“This was my first time seeing an eclipse and I thought it was fun to see it with my class. I was in health when we went out to see it, we even got glasses from our teacher,” NHS junior Valeria Gutierrez said.
Though others believe that it was not all that exciting.
“I thought the solar eclipse was very underwhelming, it kinda just looked like a banana in the sky,” NHS sophomore Hannah Stowe said.
Regardless of how this event was perceived, it was a historical event that will not be repeated for several decades. The next total solar eclipse visible in North America will be in 2044 and 2045, followed by the next two in 2078 and 2099.