The moon turned daytime skies dark as it swept across North America in a total solar eclipse Monday (April 8), thrilling tens of millions of skywatchers who had their eyes glued to the skies. All of North America and Central America experienced a partial solar eclipse, but only those located within the path of totality — an approximately 115-mile (185-kilometer) wide and 10,000-mile-long (16,000 kilometers) route — saw the moon completely obscure the sun. Related: Total solar eclipse 2024: Pictures from around the web Image 1 of 3 Thhe sun…
Read MoreMonth: April 2024
Total solar eclipse 2024 has begun and here are the first views!
It’s the moment eclipse-chasers have been waiting for. This year’s first solar eclipse has begun! The total solar eclipse first made landfall in North America at Mazatlán in Sinaloa, Mexico, with the moon beginning to take its first “bite” out of the sun at 9:51 a.m. local time (12:51 p.m. EDT, 1651 GMT). Totality will begin in Sinaloa about one hour and 16 minutes later at 11:07 a.m. local time (2:07 p.m. EDT, 1807 GMT). You can watch the total solar eclipse live here on Space.com. And keep up with…
Read MoreTotal solar eclipse 2024: Pictures from around the web
The highly anticipated total solar eclipse is here and we’re rounding up the best images of the phenomenon from across the web and social media. Here is where you’ll find the first and the latest eclipse images, as they come in. The path of totality will cover parts of Mexico, America and Canada. For more information on the event, you can check out our Total Solar Eclipse Guide or our live blog for regular updates, as they happen. If you would like to, you can also share your images with…
Read MoreNASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge
3 Min Read NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge A word cloud generated from student essay entries. Credits: NASA/Dave Lam NASA has selected the nine finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. NASA selected nine finalists out of the 45 semifinalist student essays in the Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. Contestants were challenged to explore how NASA has powered some of its most famous…
Read MoreThe total solar eclipse 2024 is happening today! Here’s what you need to know
It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for! Total solar eclipse 2024 is finally here. Today (April 8) a total solar eclipse will sweep across North America from Mexico, through 15 U.S. States and up through Canada. For viewers inside the path of totality, the moon will completely cover the sun, darkening the sky and revealing our star’s hidden outer atmosphere. You can keep up to date with the latest eclipse content on our eclipse live blog and watch all the total eclipse action unfold live here on Space.com courtesy…
Read MoreMaya nobility performed bloodletting sacrifices to strengthen a ‘dying’ sun god during solar eclipses
We live in a light-polluted world, where streetlamps, electronic ads and even backyard lighting block out all but the brightest celestial objects in the night sky. But travel to an officially protected “Dark Sky” area, gaze skyward and be amazed. This is the view of the heavens people had for millennia. Pre-modern societies watched the sky and created cosmographies, maps of the skies that provided information for calendars and agricultural cycles. They also created cosmologies, which, in the original use of the word, were religious beliefs to explain the universe. The…
Read MoreCommercial Space Frequently Asked Questions
An orbital sunrise is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 264 miles above Shenzhen, China. NASA NASA supports a robust commercial space economy that advances American industry and promotes technological discovery through in-space work and research. American companies will continue to play an essential role in establishing a sustainable presence in space. Answers to frequently asked questions about the low Earth orbit economy, private astronaut missions, and collaborating with NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program are located on this page. Low Earth Orbit FAQs What is…
Read MoreCoding the cosmos: Building an app for the total solar eclipse 2024 (op-ed)
As developers and content creators, we often find ourselves lost in the world of coding, debugging, and endless cups of coffee. But every once in a while, a project comes along that reminds us why we fell in love with creating in the first place. Enter SkySafari Eclipse 2024 for iOS and Android, our latest labor of love that will help make the 2024 April 8 total solar eclipse an unforgettable experience for all. Now, let’s get one thing straight – we’re not just a bunch of tech and space…
Read MoreStudents Present GLOBE Research at INFINITY Science Center with NASA ASTRO CAMP Community Partners Team
2 min read Students Present GLOBE Research at INFINITY Science Center with NASA ASTRO CAMP Community Partners Team Nineteen 5th-12th-grade student scientists gathered on 5 and 6 April, 2024 at the INFINITY Science Center in Pearlington, Mississippi for the U.S. GLOBE Southeast Student Research Symposium. The students traveled to the symposium with educators and chaperones from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to celebrate environmental research conducted using Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) protocols. They presented their GLOBE research to each other and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics…
Read MoreI’m driving 6 hours through New York’s Adirondacks to see the 2024 total solar eclipse from Potsdam. Here’s why.
Seven years ago, I witnessed my first total solar eclipse. Yes, it was amazing and spectacular, but it was also, surprisingly, a bit sad. Let me explain. I witnessed my first total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017 from Saluki Stadium at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (which, coincidentally, will see another total eclipse of the sun on April 8). And while there were thousands of other spectators there, it was by all accounts a work event. My friends and family were at home in New Jersey, out of the…
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