# USA TSE, total solar eclipse: April 2024 (was "three years away for USA" when started) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 27, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873 "2021-03-27T21:36:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/521 "2024-03-27T15:10:44Z")
I hope you both have an awesome time and I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/522 "2024-03-27T16:31:55Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > We leave tomorrow for our road trip to Texas. > > I leave Tue. It’ll be fun if folks post some of their eclipse road trip adventures here. Yeah, let’s. On my way to Pasadena today we (me and da wife / da boss) plan to stop by the flooded (last year) Tulare Lake, to see how much it has receded. Apparently it has receded a lot. I will probably drive every mile of the 5,000 on this road trip. She is still recovering from her health scare in November, so she’ll be sleeping and otherwise resting. ETA ➜ [The flooded disaster that is Tulare Lake in California’s Central Valley - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board](https://is.gd/siSCXE) ⇨ the thread with pics I posted a year ago. This shortened URL is safe. I created it. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/523 "2024-03-27T22:38:32Z")
Assuming the weather is clear - if I’m on a high point of land or in a tall building within the totality zone, should I be able to see the shadow moving across the ground? Would there be a sharp contrast between the shadow and the sunlit area, or would it be more gradual? From a plane, you can see the sharp contrast between light and dark on the clouds below, but how about from an observer a few hundred feet above the ground? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/524 "2024-03-28T01:02:44Z")
And today, both of my students had to call off unexpectedly, and I had to give a quiz for a couple of students during that time, but we still managed to continue the distribution. Out of the 1000 pairs we had, we gave out close to 900, which I’m pretty satisfied with: We didn’t have to turn anyone away, we didn’t have too many surplus, and we’ll still have some to distribute on the day of, if need be. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/525 "2024-03-28T21:13:53Z")
It’ll be pretty gradual, even from a plane. On the ground, not that noticeable unless you are looking out for it, and at that point you will be waiting for the diamond ring! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/526 "2024-03-29T01:29:33Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > I picked up 2 pairs of eclipse glasses, 1 for me and 1 for my husband, at our local library, and 2 pairs for our kids at one of the NY State Thruway rest stops I’ll keep an eye out for those on our drive north! My husband got some, but it couldn’t hurt to have a spare or two in case of carelessness. We’re taking 2 cars, since there will be 6 people plus luggage plus non-perishable groceries for a week. We’ll likely be taking the thruway part of the drive. I-81 then US 11 is slightly more direct if we take my preferred Pennsylvania-based route (we loathe the MD / NJ / NY Metro variant, and with the bridge collapse, I really want to avoid Baltimore traffic). But my daughter is going to get herself to Albany, and we’ll fetch her there en route, so one of our cars will go that way. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I leave Tue. It’ll be fun if folks post some of their eclipse road trip adventures here. I won’t bore you all, as our route is pretty unexciting. One long driving day, over roads with little to recommend them. Hopefully we won’t run into much bad weather; traffic shouldn’t be an issue because a) it’s a weekday, and b) the largest city we will be near is Albany, but there’ve been times where the weather was pretty horrid. In 2018, I was driving up to Vermont, through Pennsylvania, and had to stop for the night by 5 PM as visibility was so poor. We’ll have multiple drivers in each car, which will help. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/527 "2024-03-29T01:40:22Z")
Merry Good Friday! (is that the right term?) So sometime in late 1960, the director Richard Flieisher (Soylent Green and lots of others) is directing Barrabas starring Anthony Quinn and produced by Dino de Laurentis. He’s in Verona, Italy and someone in the production crew finds out there’s a Total Solar Eclipse in a week or so somewhere else in Italy. So yeah, let’s hold off prouction, change the end of the movie with Christ on the cross during a 2 minute 50 eclipse. You’re gonna get one take and as I understand it they did it in the one with no SFX. (not gonna post via the work-around so search on youtube for The Crucifixion Of Jesus Christ | Barabbas | Silver Scenes) “Who is turning out the lights?” Yeah back then only scholars would even _know_ of Solar Eclipses and Edmund Halley was the first to accurately predict a a TSE using silly Newtonian math (and even so there were sceptics about his prediction of the comet named for him that sadly he didn’t live to see). Anyways, Corona means Crown and it is absolutely a splendid coincidence that the Moon sometimes almost exactly covers the disc of the Sun, and we can predict when and where it’ll all go down. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/528 "2024-03-29T02:19:51Z")
Article on how to use smartphones to snap photos: > **[Advice | How to use your smartphone to photograph the solar eclipse](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/24/how-to-take-pictures-eclipse-phone/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzExNTk4NDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzEyOTgwNzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MTE1OTg0MDAsImp0aSI6ImMyYmIzMzZjLWI3ZjgtNDI2OS05MzE4LTRjNzU2Nzc3ZWIwYSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS90ZWNobm9sb2d5LzIwMjQvMDMvMjQvaG93LXRvLXRha2UtcGljdHVyZXMtZWNsaXBzZS1waG9uZS8ifQ._zuGIVAsZj1swHvoTTB5UvfzYScDJ9DIRGyFbBPGBxc&itid=gfta)** > > Taking pictures of this year’s stunning total eclipse shouldn’t be too hard — as long as you’re prepared. Here’s what you need to do. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/529 "2024-03-29T02:47:37Z")
I have a question, and this seems a good place to ask it. Obviously, we know in advance when a solar eclipse will happen. We know the inclination and rotation of the Earth, its path around the sun, the orbit of the moon around the Earth; all the periods, inclinations, and eccentricities. just project those numbers into the future, figure out where the moon’s shadow is, and you can predict the next eclipse. Is it possible to predict the location of the next eclipse empirically, without all the 3-D geometry? To put it another way, suppose I know that one eclipse happened on a certain day and time, and at a certain latitude and longitude. And I know that the next one happened 572 days and three hours later, and 24 degrees further west, can I use that to extrapolate the next eclipse, 572 days and 24 degrees later? I suspect the simple answer is ‘no’. How 'bout if I have more data to work from? If I know the times and places of the last 20 eclipses, or the last 50, are there repeating patterns tell me when the next eclipse will be? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/530 "2024-03-29T03:02:17Z")
Yes, there is a pattern, called the [Saros cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saros_(astronomy)). Every 18 years plus 11 days after an eclipse, conditions are right for another similar eclipse, although not in the same place on Earth (actually about 1/3 of the way around the planet from the previous one). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/531 "2024-03-29T04:00:42Z")
I looked up a list of upcoming solar eclipses. Iceland or Spain in 2026 - both sound good. 2027 has one that is mostly in northern Africa, though it seems like it might touch part of Spain. And 2028 has one hitting Australia and New Zealand. I’d better start saving up for the airfare! ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/532 "2024-03-29T11:56:29Z")
2027, the best place to see it will be the Red Sea, probably Egypt. And it is a very long one as well! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/533 "2024-03-29T13:11:51Z")
My geophysics feed this morning had a few eclipse-related articles that might be interesting to folks of a popular science+ mindset. With links to the real science for those inclined to dig deeper. The first article includes ways you can participate as a citizen scientist using your phone to gather data while you watch the eclipse yourself. > **[Eclipse Science Along the Path of Totality - Eos](https://eos.org/features/eclipse-science-along-the-path-of-totality)** > > When a total solar eclipse sweeps across the United States on 8 April, scientists and enthusiasts alike will be there to document it. > **[The Small Self and the Vast Universe: Eclipses and the Science of Awe - Eos](https://eos.org/features/the-small-self-and-the-vast-universe-eclipses-and-the-science-of-awe)** > > What is awe? What does it feel like? Why does it exist? And what is it about a total solar eclipse that seems perfectly designed to provoke it? > **[The End of the Eclipse - Eos](https://eos.org/features/the-end-of-the-eclipse)** > > Scientists are studying how the Earth–Moon distance has changed over time, and what effect that change might have had on our planet. Future changes will extinguish total solar eclipses entirely. > **[Solar Eclipses May Initiate Disturbances in Geospace - Eos](https://eos.org/editor-highlights/solar-eclipses-may-initiate-disturbances-in-geospace)** > > The statistical evidence from 21 years of data suggests that a solar eclipse may trigger a geomagnetic substorm, which is a disturbance in the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. > **[Low-Level Clouds Disappear During a Solar Eclipse - Eos](https://eos.org/articles/low-level-clouds-disappear-during-a-solar-eclipse)** > > Cumulus clouds rapidly dissipate as the land surface cools, a finding that has implications for Sun-obscuring geoengineering efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/534 "2024-03-29T13:36:19Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Yes, there is a pattern, called the [Saros cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saros_(astronomy)). Every 18 years plus 11 days after an eclipse, conditions are right for another similar eclipse, although not in the same place on Earth (actually about 1/3 of the way around the planet from the previous one). Very interesting; many thanks for sharing that. Solar eclipses, of course, happen more often than every 18 years. There are multiple cycles overlapping each other. It must have taken some extreme cleverness to suss out the signal from the noise. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/535 "2024-03-29T17:09:09Z")
Yes, very impressive that despite the extreme rarity of eclipses at any one place on Earth and despite the difficulty of long-distance communication, the Saros cycle was recognized over 2000 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/536 "2024-03-29T19:34:43Z")
That last one might explain why, when we were in South Carolina in 2017, the skies cleared just as the eclipse was beginning. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the same will happen in 10 days! ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/537 "2024-03-29T19:53:13Z")
We did an Astronomy on Tap event last night specific to the eclipse; one of the speakers was a news radio meteorologist. Of course we’re a way out & things can (& do change) but he was shocked at how awful the forecast was for how much the path of totality for so much of the US was. However, refer to my comment in post [#509](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/509) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/538 "2024-03-29T23:09:56Z")
Article on eye damage from eclipse viewing: > **[Eclipses Injured Their Eyes, and the World Never Looked the Same](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/health/total-solar-eclipse-eye-safety.html?ugrp=m&unlocked_article_code=1.gU0.TuFC.OIjhrJcvf2fF&smid=url-share)** > > A number of case studies published after recent total solar eclipses highlight the importance of safe viewing. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/539 "2024-03-30T03:55:06Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I won’t bore you all, as our route is pretty unexciting. Well you’ll be going right by my hometown, Latham NY, so it’s pretty exciting to me! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873/540 "2024-03-30T04:41:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’ll be fun if folks post some of their eclipse road trip adventures here. Mine is turning into a “Comic Books, Trains and Ribs” trip (a natural, as soon as my wife said she didn’t want to come). I’m heading south through Illinois, and was excited to see Metropolis. A Superman Museum (and multiple gift shops, I’ll bet). Then I saw that in Normal, IL there’s a local comic book shop _annnd_ an offshoot of my favorite: Graham Cracker Comics (between two record shops, yet)! And the Wabash Railroad Model Train Museum in Forest, IL, with a Model Railroad Ride nearby. Might detour to follow some of the route of the Wabash Cannonball… you can drive across some of the old railroad bridges. The ribs’ll be in Champaign, at the Black Dog Smoke & Ale House. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-tse-total-solar-eclipse-april-2024-was-three-years-away-for-usa-when-started/938873.md?page=28)