{"id":26979,"date":"2024-04-05T16:34:47","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T16:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/05\/total-eclipse-of-the-sun-pieces-of-history\/"},"modified":"2024-04-05T16:34:47","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T16:34:47","slug":"total-eclipse-of-the-sun-pieces-of-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/05\/total-eclipse-of-the-sun-pieces-of-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Total Eclipse of the Sun \u2013 Pieces of History"},"content":{"rendered":"


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On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Today\u2019s post, an update of Riley Lindheimer\u2019s 2017 piece, looks a solar eclipses past and present. Visit the National Archives website<\/a> for more information. <\/em><\/p>\n

On April 8, 2024, the continental United States will experience the first total solar eclipse since 2017. This celestial phenomenon has inspired awe in viewers around the world for centuries.<\/p>\n

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NARA staff Scott Barton at the National Archives solar eclipse viewing party, August 21, 2017. (NARA photo by Jeff Reed) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Although partial solar eclipses occur more frequently, total solar eclipses require the perfect alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth.<\/p>\n

Observers in the \u201cpath of totality,\u201d a narrow path of visibility, will experience a period of temporary darkness while the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the Sun and its corona. <\/p>\n

In 2017, the path spanned the\u00a0contiguous United States\u00a0from the\u00a0Pacific\u00a0to the\u00a0Atlantic\u00a0coasts. For 2024, it enters the U.S. in Texas and exits in Maine. <\/p>\n

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A total solar eclipse is visible (weather permitting) from locations within the path of totality, shown as a dark gray band across this map of the April 8, 2024, eclipse. (NASA\/Scientific Visualization Studio\/Michala Garrison; Eclipse Calculations By Ernie Wright, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

The phenomenon takes place over the course of about three hours, with observers in the path only able to view the eclipse for a couple of minutes in any given location. This fleeting window adds to the excitement and novelty of the total solar eclipse, motivating people to travel miles to be in the path of totality. Eclipse gazers of the past explain how during those few minutes in the moon\u2019s shadow, the sky turns so dark that constellations can be seen and owls hoot.<\/p>\n

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Time-lapsed photographs of the February 26 total solar eclipse from the Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge annual report, 1979. (National Archives Identifier:\u00a025496903<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Before the 2017 eclipse, the last total solar eclipse in the continental United States occurred on February 26, 1979, with the path of totality only falling in the Pacific Northwest region of Oregon, Washington State, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.<\/p>\n

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Photographs of the February 26 total solar eclipse from the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge annual report, 1979. (National Archives Identifier:\u00a025495579<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Photographers, astronomers, and everyday people wished for unseasonably clear weather so that they could have the opportunity to join the long history of eclipse watchers.<\/p>\n

On that day in 1979, National Wildlife Refuge workers in North and South Dakota were able to catch a glimpse of this beautiful natural occurrence. <\/p>\n

In their annual reports, workers identified the solar eclipse as an \u201citem of interest,\u201d including pictures of photographers who attempted to document the event and creating time lapses that captured the solar corona.<\/p>\n

An entry in the\u00a0annual report<\/a>\u00a0of the Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge in Martin, South Dakota, described how the refuge manager was able to safely photograph the eclipse through a welding mask.<\/p>\n

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Photograph of the July 11 solar eclipse from the J.N. \u201cDing\u201d Darling National Wildlife Refuge annual report, 1991. (National Archives Identifier:\u00a025627996<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

With the growing interest of the public, solar eclipses have become huge events for towns within the path of totality. NASA and other organizations have worked to promote safe viewing practices for solar eclipses. To safely view an eclipse and to learn what to expect, visit NASA\u2019s website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Tips to safely view the eclipse include:<\/p>\n