This eclipse is called the American Eclipse because its different phases will be visible throughout the United States
In the coming days, the inhabitants of the Earth will witness an interesting astronomical phenomenon. On April 8, 2024, from 19:39 to 22:55 Moscow time, a total eclipse of the Sun will occur with a maximum phase of 1.029 at 21:17 and a duration of the total phase of 4 minutes 28 seconds. The press service of the Moscow Planetarium spoke about this.
April 8, 2024, the distance from the Earth to the Moon is 353321 km, and the average length of the lunar shadow is 373320 km. Moreover, the apparent diameter of the Moon is 1.0566 times greater than the apparent diameter of the solar disk, so the Moon will completely cover the Sun.
The eclipse reaches its maximum at the point with coordinates 25.3° northern latitude and 104.1° west longitude, lasts a maximum of 4 minutes 28 seconds. The width of the lunar shadow on the earth's surface will be 198 kilometers. The planetarium said:
At the moment of the total phase of the eclipse, you can see with the naked eye the corona of the Sun, which will flare up like a radiant halo around the disk of the Sun, stars and planets located near the Sun, completely covered by the Moon.
The full phase will be visible to residents of North America and some islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Partial phases of this eclipse, weather permitting, will be observed in North and South America, in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This eclipse will not be observed in Russia. Partial phases of a total solar eclipse can be observed through special glasses, but the total phase can also be seen with the naked eye.
Eclipses of the Sun and Moon occur once every six months, the period between them – two weeks. Lunar eclipses occur on full moons, and solar eclipses occur on new moons. During these celestial performances, the Sun, Earth and Moon line up. If the Earth is in the middle, then people observe a lunar eclipse, and if the Moon – then sunny.
Additional details about the start time and course of the total and partial eclipse of the Sun on April 8, 2024, for a specific point on the Earth, can be found on the interactive map from Xavier M. Jubier or on the Nasa map.