The April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will be the anticipated most-watched celestial event in the nation’s history according to Meteored. Some people may be driving to see the eclipse in complete totality, or be staying home to see a partial eclipse. But there are important things and interesting facts you need to know.
A solar eclipse is when the moon positions itself between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow over Earth. A total solar eclipse is when the moon completely blocks the face of the sun. Here in Freedom, the eclipse will be partial. The nearest three places to Freedom the path of totality will visit are Cleveland, Ohio, Sandusky, Ohio, and Erie, Penna. A lunar eclipse is when the Earth positions itself between the moon and the sun, casting a shadow on the moon and making it appear red.
It is only safe to watch the eclipse with special eclipse glasses. You can only take them off during totality if you are in the path of totality. There are many fake and unsafe eclipse glasses. If your glasses have this code: ISO 12312-2, then your eyes are safe and these are real glasses. If you don’t have glasses you could burn your retinas out and go blind. According to Prevent Blindness, “This exposure to light can cause damage or even destroy cells in the retina (the back of the eye) that transmit what you see to the brain. This damage can be temporary or permanent and occurs with no pain. It can take a few hours to a few days after viewing the solar eclipse to realize the damage that has occurred.” It is still not wise to stare at it for too long, even with glasses.
If you are heading toward the path of totality expect lots of traffic. I-76 going to Cleveland and I-79 going to Erie will be backed up, as well as Rt. 19 going to Erie. The partial eclipse will happen at Freedom at about 3:15 PM EST.
Many interesting phenomena can happen during a solar eclipse. One of them is called the Purkinje effect. As the eclipse comes closer, the color sensitivity of your eyes changes and you start to perceive colors differently. Bright colors look muddy. Another effect is that some shadows appear sharp and others are fuzzy. The one that is in line with the crescent will be sharp. The one perpendicular will be fuzzy. When the moon passes in front of the sun, sometimes you can see the mountains and craters on the moon in the crescent of the sun!
The animal behavior also changes. Animals think nighttime is coming, so they start their nighttime behaviors. Humans won’t notice a change until about ten to eight minutes until totality, but animals will sense it slightly earlier. The first thing you will hear is crickets, about ten or fifteen minutes before totality. Birds will go to their nighttime resting spot. Bee hives get very active before totality. In an experiment, bees that weren’t able to return would land and wait for the sun to return, and farm chickens felt safe in their farm environment, and didn’t feel the need to go inside immediately.
