In the upcoming 2024 solar eclipse, notable cities across North America will experience the path of totality. These include Mazatlán and Torreón in Mexico; San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas in Texas; Little Rock in Arkansas; Indianapolis in Indiana; Cleveland in Ohio; and Buffalo and Rochester in New York, among others. Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and Rochester in New York will also be within the path, along with Watertown and Plattsburgh. Locally, Brockport and the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls lie directly on the center line of totality.
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The eclipse's shadow will traverse New York State at an average speed of about 2,300 miles per hour, covering the state in about 10 minutes. Dan Schneiderman, the eclipse partnership coordinator for the Rochester Museum & Science Center, provided this information.
For those in Rochester, NY, the eclipse will commence at 2:07 p.m. on April 8, with the moon beginning to move in front of the sun. Totality will start at 3:20 p.m. and last for 3 minutes and 38 seconds, give or take a few seconds depending on your location. By 4:33 p.m., the moon will have completed its passage past the sun, restoring normal light.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon aligns perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blocking out sunlight. The eclipse's shadow will travel diagonally from southwest to northeast across North America, casting communities along its path into darkness momentarily. Cities like Dallas, Little Rock, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Rochester, Buffalo, and Montreal will experience the eclipse directly, making it the continent's largest eclipse event. However, even those outside the path of totality will witness a partial eclipse, with the extent of the sun's coverage decreasing the farther one is from the center line.
The path of totality for this eclipse is longer due to a fortunate cosmic alignment. The moon will be at its closest point to Earth for the month, just 223,000 miles away on eclipse day. This proximity will make the moon appear slightly larger in the sky, resulting in an extended period of darkness when it blocks the sun. Additionally, on that day, the Earth and moon will be at their average distance of 93 million miles from the sun. This combination of a closer moon and a more distant sun can lead to totality lasting up to 7 1/2 minutes. The last time such an extended totality was witnessed was in 1973 over Africa, and it won't occur again until 2150 over the Pacific.