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…

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Total 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…

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The 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…

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Maya 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…

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Coding 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…

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I’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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Total solar eclipse 2024: Here’s the national weather forecast for April 8

During the past week, the day-to-day weather outlook for the total solar eclipse on April 8 has been changing. Although modern numerical weather prediction systems are marvels of science and technology, forecasts made beyond a week in advance are subject to significant changes as new information is ingested into later simulations.  But now, as the days to totality have dwindled to a precious few, these forecasts are now showing increasing signs of converging, providing useful, consistent guidance for which broad areas along the path of totality have the best chance…

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This solar eclipse simulator on SkySafari will guide you through the eclipse on April 8

A new “eclipse simulator” on SkySafari allows you to anticipate what you’ll see when the moon blocks the sun in areas of North America on Monday (April 8). The SkySafari Eclipse Simulation Widget, which you can see below, includes the ability to “watch” an eclipse from any point on Earth. A shadow tracker will let you watch the moon’s shadow moving “across continents and oceans, a stunning reminder of the beauty and intricacy of our solar system,” developers wrote. The entry-level version of SkySafari 7, which features on our best…

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Scientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes

5 min read Scientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes The April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will produce stunning views across North America. While anyone along the eclipse path with a clear sky will see the spectacular event, the best view might be 50,000 feet in the air, aboard NASA’s WB-57 jet planes. That’s where a trio of NASA-funded teams are sending their scientific instruments to take measurements of the eclipse. Two teams will image the Sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – and a third…

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ISS astronauts ready to watch the solar eclipse from space on April 8

NASA astronauts and weather satellites will watch next week’s solar eclipse from space. SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), alongside at least one of the two Russian Soyuz crews on board right now, will experience a “very unique vantage point” when a total solar eclipse sweeps across Mexico, the United States and Canada on April 8, a senior NASA manager said during a livestreamed eclipse science briefing on March 26. “Instead of looking up at the moon casting the shadow, they’ll also be able to see the…

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