NASA Solar System Ambassador Howard Hochhalter speaks about April 8th solar eclipse.
NASA Solar System Ambassador Howard Hochhalter talks about the significance of the April 8th solar eclipse.
“It’ll look like an Oreo cookie that has a bite out of it and the bite will get bigger and bigger and bigger.”
The solar eclipse is fast approaching. With many across the country getting ready to experience the celestial event, it’s important to keep in mind the safety precautions necessary to view it.
“You wanna stress this, don’t look at the eclipse without protection. It’s so bright, you won’t notice it, it’ll still look like the sun.”
After you get yourself a pair of eclipse glasses, one question still remains. What can South Mississippians expect to see during the eclipse.
“So it’ll come in and it doesn’t go straight across. It’s because the earth is rotating and as its rotating your position on the earth changes the way the moon appears to be moving in the sky. So it’ll come into the sun at a particular angle and then leave at another angle. That’s why it looks like it does a little curve as it passes in front of the sun.”
During the 20th Century there were a total of 18 total solar eclipses. Moving in to the 21st Century, that number drops all the way down to 8, with the first having already happened back in the summer of 2017. This makes Monday’s eclipse just the 2nd we will experience this century, with the next total eclipse set to come in 2045. This solidifies the April 8th eclipse as a significant event to witness.
“It gives people an opportunity to see something, and for many this is a once in a lifetime kind of thing. You think about all the things that you do in your life, dwell and reflect on the things that you’ve done, many things you don’t remember. I promise you this, you will remember your experience at a total solar eclipse. You will carry that to the grave. It will be something that leaves an indelible impression on you. For some people this could be a transformative experience, this is the kind of thing that connects people to the reality around them. A solar eclipse reminds people that there are things going on in this place far beyond the scope of our own perception of reality. The moon, the sun, and all those celestial bodies moving around, they’re doing their thing and every once in a while, they remind us of that, and that’s what a solar eclipse is.”
