On April 8, 2024, millions of Americans will be able to see a rare celestial occurrence: a total solar eclipse.
It’s going to be awesome. If you’re in the center of the moon’s shadow, known as the totality, the sky will go dark for a few minutes in the middle of the day. The temperature will drop, stars will appear, and birds will become confused and start chirping their nighttime songs.
And it’s all because of a cosmic coincidence: From the Earth, the moon and the sun appear to be roughly the same size.
This will be the last total solar eclipse over the contiguous United States for 21 years. Don’t miss it!
Originally designed for increased accessibility for the low vision community, if you are unable to see the eclipse or have ever wondered what an eclipse sounds like:
The LightSound Project, an initiative started by a team of astronomers and engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in 2017, designed a handheld sonification device that senses the light changes that occur during an eclipse. As the moon passes over the sun, the device sonifies the shifts in light into flute, clarinet, and bassoon tones, as well as percussive clicks.
Check out !solareclipse@reddthat.com
Didn’t we just have an eclipse? The gods must be angry.
They certainly have reason to be angry as of late.
I am excited! I was in Omaha for the 2017 Eclipse, and plan to be in Texas for this one, taking photos and enjoying the sight of it. It is a humbling sight, and from a spiritual perspective it is amazing for channeling energy through.
If you get some good photos be sure to share with us! I live in the Northeast of so-called US so I envy the view you’ll have. Great point about the spiritual impact of the eclipse and one of the reasons I felt like it fits with Lunarpunk. You can’t help but be in awe of nature and your place in the universe when a cosmic event like this takes place.
Exactly! I will post pictures when I get them! And yeah, I am a nomadic heart, traveling is a big sign of enjoyment in my life.
