Total Solar Eclipse: North Americans Celebrate with Cheers, Music and Matrimony
Editor
9 April 2024 13:35 WIB
The surge in eclipse enthusiasts taking to roadways in Indiana prompted the state police to announce it was shutting down highway rest stops once they reached capacity and kept them closed for the duration.
At up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds, Monday's total eclipse surpassed the duration of the 2017 event, which lasted upwards of 2 minutes and 42 seconds. According to NASA, opens new tab, solar eclipse totalities can range from 10 seconds to about 7-1/2 minutes.
Monday's total eclipse rolled through more densely populated regions than seven years ago, a corridor averaging 115 miles (185 km) wide encompassing such major cities as San Antonio, Austin and Dallas, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Montreal, Quebec.
About 32 million people in the United States live within the path of totality, with federal officials having predicted another 5 million people would travel to be there.
It took about 80 minutes from the moment the moon first began to cover the sun to the moment of totality, then another 80 minutes to complete the process in reverse.
The last remaining bit of brilliant sunlight before totality creates a "diamond ring effect," with a single bright spot glaring from one side of the lunar shadow while the sun's corona still encircles the rest of the moon.
Some suggested the experience might have a lingering effect on human social behavior, if only temporarily.
REUTERS
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