Eyes to the sky! Why April's total solar eclipse is the time to watch.
April 8, 2024 will be the last total solar eclipse visible in the United States for the next twenty consecutive years.
Much of the country will get a chance to witness a rare total solar eclipse next month.
For a few minutes on April 8, the moon will line up perfectly with the sun, darkening the sky for its entire path from Texas to Maine.
“Seeing that shadow move in the sun is a different experience,” said Jeff Goins, manager of interpretation and fare. Kabulin Volcano National Monument In New Mexico. “Let's look at planets near the Sun. You can see the stars and everything.
The unusual event, which he compared to twilight, may confuse the animals and cause traffic to back up, but it is certainly expected to surprise visitors.
“Everybody's seen the pictures, but when you see it with your own eyes, it hits you here as a very personal experience of something happening in space.” He said patting his chest.
During the last solar eclipse in 2017, Goins remembers everyone around him screaming and yelling. He traveled to Grand Teton National Park for that and plans to travel back for this next visit.
“There is a show in our park that day. It's going to be a partial eclipse here,” Goins said of Kabul's volcano. “But I'm the astronomy nerd here, so I'll go to the center.”
Passengers will be able to see the total solar eclipse in 27 units National Park System next month, but there are many more parks with stunning skies year-round.
Where can we see the eclipse in 2024?
A Interactive map Published by the National Park Service, using NASA data, it shows the following park units along the path of the total lunar eclipse.
Other sites like San Antonio Missions National Historical Park In Texas, William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Ohio, and Stanwix Castle National Monument New York is outside the eclipse's path of totality.
Eclipse Island, Moon Beach: These places in the solar eclipse path have proper names
Which national park has the best stargazing?
In most places, according to NASA, the total solar eclipse lasts only three and a half to four minutes, but almost every night, the sky puts on a spectacular display in national park units across the country.
There's no better park for stargazing; There are many. Here are some parks that have night sky shows. Those with star signs like the Mount of Kabul also have it International Dark Ski Association Certificate.
Astronomy Tourism 101: How to Plan Your Dark Skies Vacation
What happens at night in national parks?
Visitors who leave the park before sunset miss out.
“There are birds that make noise at night. Deer are more active… a lot of predators hunt at night. A lot of rodent activity happens at night. There are bats at night. There's all kinds of biological activity,” Goins said. While he previously worked at Bryce Canyon, it hosts Moonlight hikesHe liked to point out the evening primrose that blooms only at night.
Nighttime also comes alive in the sky.
“You go out and you're going to see the sky like you've never seen in your life if you grew up in a city,” he said.
