Total Solar Eclipse of 2024

by Carolyn Henderson

This solar eclipse of totality in Milam County is a rare event. They actually occur about every 18 months somewhere in the world, but it can take lifetimes before one occurs here again. There won’t be another total eclipse in the USA until August 23, 2044. The last time there was an eclipse of totality in this area (Austin to be specific) was 1397. That’s right, 1397, according to the Austin American Statesman.

The total event will take up to 3 hours to complete. The actual total eclipse will last approximately 4 minutes, give or take 30 seconds. Where totality occurs, it will be completely dark for 4 ½ minutes. For those of us in the path of totality, which is 100 miles wide, we will see somewhere between 2 ½ minutes to 3 ½ minutes of total darkness. Our location is not at 100%, but we are only about 30 miles off, which gives us a full 3 minutes of chill bump-raising darkness.

According to NASA Astrophysicist Alex Young, the hype is true. He has seen 4 total solar eclipses. He says that every time he’s experienced one, he gets chills, like goosebumps, and all the hair on his arms stood up. He says he feels like a rush of adrenaline is washing over him. “Getting cold and getting dark happens so quickly that your mind is confused,” Young said.

So how long does the whole thing take? According to the National Solar Observatory, it will take about 2 hours and 45 minutes from start to finish. The moon moving in front of the sun will take more than an hour to complete. And then it’ll take more than an hour for the moon to completely move off the sun.

The best time to view this one in totality here will be 12:15 p.m. to 1:44 pm. Give or take a few minutes. It starts at 12:15 to12:30 and totality ends at 1:45ish.

So what’s the difference between the April 8, 2024 eclipse and the October 2023 eclipse that was best seen in South Texas? The October 2023 eclipse was an annular eclipse. An annular eclipse only partially covers the sun which creates the “ring of fire” effect. The eclipse today is a total eclipse. If you are in the “path of totality” (that’s the 100 mile wide path), you will see total darkness. As stated earlier, the time it stays totally dark depends on how far away from center you are.

According to NASA, a total eclipse needs the moon to be at just the right “eliptic” to the Sun. The eliptic is the apparent path of the Sun across the sky. The moon’s orbital tilt is why we don’t have solar eclipses during every new moon. The new moon is usually too high or too low to block out the sun. In an annular eclipse, the moon is too far from Earth to entirely block the Sun.

When a new moon passes between the Earth and Sun and the eliptic angle is right, a total eclipse occurs. During the eclipse, the moon’s shadow is cast upon the earth and travels across the surface at an estimated 1,950 mph, according to scientist in a Washington Post story. So if anyone is intending to try to keep up with it on the 195-mile stretch of  Interstate 35 between Austin and Dallas, good luck with that. All of that is in the “Path of Totality”.

Nearly 32 million people live in the Path of Totality. This one will cross the homes of more people in Texas alone than the last cross-country eclipse of 2017. It is projected to last longer, too.

If you miss this one, it won’t happen again in our area until Feb. 25, 2343. That’s 340 years away.

Above all else, wear eye cover that meets the requirements for certification by the government. There should be the following on the eyewear: ISO 12312-2:2015 Certification. Looking directly at the sun too long at any time can harm your eyes. It is particularly harmful during eclipses.