

The darkening sky continues to close in around the Sun, faster, engulfing it.Ģ019 Diamond Ring Effect The "diamong ring" effect is seen just before totality begins. The crescent Sun is now a blazing white sliver, like a welder's torch. You are already seeing through the Moon's narrow shadow to the resurgent sunlight beyond. It builds like a massive storm, but in utter silence, with no rumble of distant thunder.Īnd now the darkness begins to float up above the horizon, revealing a yellow or orange twilight beneath. The darkness in the west is very noticeable and gathering strength, a dark amorphous form rising upward and spreading out along the western horizon. The Sun does not fill the heavens with brightness anymore. The darkness of the sky begins to close in around the Sun. The Sun, a narrowing crescent, is still fiercely bright, but the blueness of the sky has deepened into blue-gray or violet. Less than fifteen minutes until totality. Is happening now-and that it is beyond normal human experience. With about a quarter hour left until totality, the western sky is now darker than the east, regardless of where the Sun is in the sky.Įven if you have never seen a total eclipse of the Sun before, you know that something amazing is going to happen, Over the next 10 to 15 minutes, the landscape takes on a steely gray metallic cast. On the ground around you the light is beginning to diminish. The sky is still bright, but the blue is a little duller. Now, gradually at first, then faster and faster, extraordinary things begin to happen. Still, things proceed leisurely for the first half hour or so, until the Sun is more than half covered. Nothing but that nick portends anything out of the ordinary.īut as the nick becomes a gouge in the face of the Sun, a sense of anticipation begins. The eye detects no difference in the amount of sunlight. In both cases, you have missed the main event."Ī tiny nick appears on the western side of the Sun.

Seeing a partial eclipse and saying that you have seen an eclipse is like standing outside an opera house and saying that you have seen the opera "Some people see a partial eclipse and wonder why others talk so much about a total eclipse. The AP is solely responsible for all content.2017 Total Solar Eclipse This sequence shows the entire eclipse from start to finish. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. Seeing a partial eclipse - even if it’s 90% covered - means “you missed all the good stuff,” he said. With a 20-year gap until the next total solar eclipse in the U.S., Duncan says it will be worth it to be in the path of totality next year. The April 20 eclipse is mostly over the Indian Ocean, and only crosses over a few slivers of Australia and Southeast Asia. Later this month, there will be a rare hybrid eclipse, which switches between a total and an annular eclipse at different points along its path. The path of that eclipse will cross from Oregon down through California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. There will be an annular eclipse - when the sun isn’t completely covered, but appears like a ring of fire in the sky - later this year, on Oct. will get some eclipse action ahead of the big event in 2024. “To be able to just lean into the moment.” “I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy this even longer,” Brown said. Looking at the partially covered sun without protection can cause serious eye damage.īrown and her husband are planning to join Duncan’s eclipse tour in Austin.

You’ll want to grab eclipse glasses to see the partial phases before and after totality, Schneiderman added. “Hopefully with their close friends and loved ones.” “The goal, at the end of the day, is to get as many people outside as possible, looking up during totality,” said Dan Schneiderman, who is helping the Rochester Museum and Science Center plan events. It’s a big group experience, Baer said: “The last 20 minutes before totality, the stadium gets as loud as a football game.”īut you can find eclipse events of all different flavors planned along the eclipse path: luxury cruises in Mexico, music festivals in Texas, farm camping in Arkansas, planetarium visits in upstate New York. Your choice also depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for, said Bob Baer, who’s coordinating eclipse plans at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.Ĭarbondale - in the crossroads of both the 20 eclipse paths - will hold a viewing event at the school's stadium again.
