-
You don’t want to miss April’s total solar eclipse. The US won’t see another one until 2044.
-
But this rare astronomical event occurs in the middle of working hours on a Monday.
-
Eclipse fighters told BI why you need to convince your boss to let you skip the event.
Isn’t it just our luck that the most anticipated astronomical event of the year falls on a Monday afternoon, when most of us are at work?
The first total solar eclipse in the US since 2017 will certainly be astonishing, weather permitting.
On April 8, the moon’s shadow will pass over the sun, plunging hundreds of cities from Texas to Maine into darkness.
Hundreds of schools close or close early because of the event.
More than 100,000 flights are expected in the coming days as people travel toward the path of totality (and for spring break).
And several U.S. cities have declared local states of emergency or disaster to prepare for the wave of visitors.
So if you’re already on the path of totality, you owe it to yourself to try to get at least an hour off work to capture the total solar eclipse on Monday.
Or if you’re within a day’s drive, take a day off for an impromptu road trip with friends. You can check out NASA’s Eclipse map to find out where and when totality will be in your location.
Here are four reasons you can give your boss why you shouldn’t stay at your desk for this rare cosmic event.
1. The US will not experience totality again for another twenty years
Witnesses have described the totality as an intense, profound and even eerie experience.
David Baron, avid eclipse hunter and author of the book ‘American Eclipse’, tries to see as many as possible. Over the years he has seen eight total solar eclipses.
It was his friend, astronomer Jay Pasachoff, who first turned him into an eclipse chaser.
“He said, ‘Before you die, you owe it to yourself to see a total solar eclipse,’” Baron recalled Pasachoff saying to him thirty years ago. “And he said it with such sincerity and such passion that I took him seriously, and I went to see my first total solar eclipse in Aruba in 1998.”
If you can drop everything to reach the path of totality on Monday (including your nine-to-five), you should, Baron said.
Since 1998 he has been chasing that awe-inspiring feeling that only totality can give you. The first time he saw totality, he was amazed by the sun’s corona and the planets that flank it.
“I felt like I had been transported outside our solar system to another world, and I looked back into the solar system,” he said.
And for people living in the US, this opportunity for such an experience won’t arise again until 2044.
2. It is the longest and most visible total solar eclipse in the US in 100 years
Several southern states – Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois – will see as much as four minutes or more of totality.
That’s almost a minute longer than the average total solar eclipse of the past century, which lasted 3 minutes and 13 seconds.
Totality will be longer this time because Earth will be far from the Sun, but the Moon will be close to Earth, causing the Moon to block more of the Sun for longer.
If you’re among the 300 million Americans who don’t live in the path of totality, it’s worth traveling there, said Fred Espenak, an astrophysicist whose passion for solar eclipses earned him the nickname Mr. Eclipse. He has seen 24 total solar eclipses in his lifetime, and remembers his first in 1970.
Espenak started planning his first eclipse trip seven years later when he was just 11.
“1970 rolled around, I had just gotten my driver’s license and I convinced my parents to let me take the car and drive 600 miles to totality, unescorted,” Espenak said.
And it was worth it. “It was so overwhelming,” he said.
“You stand there and the daylight suddenly disappears within thirty seconds,” he said, later adding: “It’s very dramatic.”
3. You may see two planets and a huge comet at the same time
There’s a chance that eclipse observers will see four astronomical events in one on April 8.
During the eclipse, the planets Venus and Jupiter will come into view as bright points of light just to the lower right and upper left of the eclipsed sun.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, also known as the “Devil’s Comet,” will also make a rare appearance in the sky during the eclipse.
The Devil’s Comet only passes Earth once every 71 years. It is unusually large – the size of Mount Everest – and glows green thanks to its chemical composition of dicarbon.
The darkness that totality provides could provide a rare opportunity to see this comet during the day, right next to the solar eclipse.
It will likely be barely visible to the naked eye, appearing as a small gray spot in the sky between the planet Jupiter and the eclipsed Sun.
4. You’ll get the chance to see huge solar eruptions
What’s especially unique about this year’s total solar eclipse is that the sun is currently near solar maximum, which occurs about every eleven years.
Solar maximum is the moment when the Sun’s magnetic field reverses, causing more solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and sunspots.
What this means for eclipse observers is that you’ll have a better chance of seeing these huge, blazing jets of plasma erupting from the sun’s surface, which will appear as little neon pink spikes.
Witnessing the sun’s power in this way is an amazing — and humbling — experience, Baron said. For him, the real reason to see the eclipse is to be reminded of the bigger picture.
“It’s a useful lesson to learn again and again – just to be grateful to be alive on this planet and to realize that even though we are small and insignificant, we are part of something huge and amazing, and that is universe.” he said.
Look safe
Even if you make last-minute arrangements to miss work because of the solar eclipse, it’s important to make sure you’re prepared.
It is unsafe to look directly at the sun with your eyes, phone, or camera during a partial solar eclipse. The powerful sunlight can permanently damage your vision or electronics.
To view safely, you should wear protective eclipse glasses, use protective filters for your phone or camera, or use another viewing method such as looking through a welder’s glass or a pinhole camera.
It is only safe to look directly at the eclipse without eye protection during totality, when the moon obscures the harsh rays of the sun.
Read the original article on Business Insider