2024 solar eclipse 'generational opportunity,' says NASA representative

Feb. 26—Northeast Ohio will see a celestial show that parts of the region will not see again for more than 400 years during the April 8 total solar eclipse.

The eclipse "will look and feel like a 360-degree sunset in the middle of the afternoon," said Chris Hartenstine, public engagement team lead for the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Humans may feel a decrease in temperatures, while birds, dogs, cats and other wildlife may react to the darkened skies.

Total solar eclipses occur when the moon completely blocks a region's view of the sun's disk.

"Our situation is unique in the solar system that the sun is almost 400 times bigger than our moon, but it's similarly, almost 400 times farther away," Hartenstine said. "So that ratio geometry is actually why the sun and the moon appear almost the same size in our sky — even though obviously the sun is considerably bigger."

He added that people will be able to see the sun's corona if the skies are clear during totality. Even if conditions are cloudy, the eclipse will still cause a dark afternoon.

He added that the solar eclipses take place every 18 months to two years. They often occur over oceans or other uninhabited regions.

"The odds for any given place on Earth to be able to see an eclipse is approximately once every 375 to 400 years depending on the sources you ask," Hartenstine said.

Some regions have to wait considerably less time. He said that Carbondale, Illinois, sat in the path of totality for the Aug. 21, 2017 eclipse. It will sit in the path of totality again on April 8.

Ohioans have had a longer wait — Hartenstine said that the last total eclipse to cross over a portion of the state occurred in 1806.

According to NASA, the contiguous United States will not experience another total eclipse until 2044. Hartenstine said that the next one to cross Ohio will be in 2099, while Cleveland will not experience another total eclipse until 2444.

"Eclipses and total solar eclipses like this are a once-in-generational opportunity, and the fact that it's coming right over our heads here in Northeast Ohio is very, very unique," he said.

NASA is planning to take advantage of the occasion for research. Hartenstine said that the eclipse will allow the space agency to observe regions of space without the sunlight drowning everything else out.

"By the moon doing this for us, gives us some opportunities to do science and research around the viewing direction of the sun without necessarily having that giant source of intense light, intense solar energy coming toward us that kind of obscures our view and our ability to sense things," he added.

People can also get involved with NASA's citizen science opportunities by visiting science.nasa.gov/eclipses/citizen-science.

Though this year's eclipse will stretch from Mexico to Maine and eastern Canada, Hartenstine said that there are advantages to being in Northeast Ohio. Even though it may be warmer in the southern states, it will also be tornado season.

Northeast Ohio's lakefront may also be an advantage.

"It may be a cloudy or even overcast day just miles inland from the lake but provided that the lake is still cold, that can keep the clouds at bay directly overhead and just on the edges of the lakeside beaches or lakefront properties," Hartenstine said.

Cleveland also hosts the only NASA center in the path of totality, he added. The Glenn Visitor Center at the Great Lakes Science Center will host events on the weekend before the eclipse.

The April 8 eclipse will be the state's second solar eclipse within a year. Hartenstine said that Ohio had a partial view of an annular solar eclipse in October. During an annular eclipse, the moon is far enough away from the earth that it does not block the entire sun.

"There was a ring of the sun still visible the entire way around," he added.

Though it will be a while before Ohioans can view another solar eclipse, they will have an opportunity to view a couple of lunar eclipses over the next couple of years. Hartenstine said that a partial lunar eclipse will take place on Sept. 17-18, while a total lunar eclipse is set for March 13-14, 2025.

Total lunar eclipses are marked by a reddish appearance of the moon. According to NASA, this occurs because red light travels through the earth's atmosphere to the moon while the blue light scatters.

While solar eclipses are only visible for the portions of the earth within the moon's shadow, Hartenstine said that lunar eclipses are visible anywhere the moon is visible.

More information about eclipses is available on NASA's website.

"I'll always encourage people to join us at science.nasa.gov/eclipses," Hartenstine said. "Not only can you learn more of the science behind eclipses, but you can also see the events that are occurring that NASA is participating in or supporting or hosting."