Once in a Lifetime: Don't Miss the 2024 Solar Eclipse

Rare total solar eclipse to shadow North America today

Today, there's going to be the first solar eclipse of 2024. It's going to pass over North America, including Mexico, the United States, and Canada. These kinds of eclipses are super rare, like once every 400 years in a specific spot.

Today's total eclipse is rare. It needs a perfect alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, which is unusual due to the Moon's tilted orbit. Even when aligned, the Moon's tiny shadow, covering less than 1% of Earth, makes witnessing totality a special event.

During a total solar eclipse, the sky goes dark, like it's sunrise or sunset. If the weather's good, people in the eclipse's path can see the sun's corona, its outer layer, which is usually covered by the sun's brightness.

The upcoming total solar eclipse scheduled for April 8 2024 will cast a shadow of darkness known as totality across a 185-kilometer stretch encompassing regions, in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Additionally, residents from up to 18 states, in the US will have an opportunity to witness this event.

Total Solar Eclipse Timings & Duration:

According to Indian Standard Time (IST), the total solar eclipse will start at 9:12 pm on April 8. Total darkness, known as totality, will begin at 10:08 pm and will end at 2:22 am on April 9, 2024. In Mexico's Pacific coast, totality will start first around 11:07 am PDT and end in Maine around 1:30 pm PDT.

The entire event will last around two and a half hours, but the total darkness part will only be about four minutes. According to NASA, the most exciting part is expected to last up to 4 minutes and 27 seconds in the path of total darkness.

How to watch the eclipse safely?

The Sun is very bright. Even looking at a small part of it can hurt your eyes. People all over the world are told to wear special glasses, like eclipse glasses when they watch the eclipse. If you don't wear them, the Sun can burn your retina and make you blind permanently.

Total Solar Eclipse: How to Watch Online?

If you can't see the solar eclipse in person, you can watch it live on NASA's website. They will start streaming on April 8 at 5:00 pm GMT (10:30 pm IST) and will keep streaming until 8:00 pm GMT (1:30 am IST).

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