This image combines many exposures of different durations taken to reveal aspects of the … [+]
If you haven’t experienced a total solar eclipse, you haven’t lived.
On Monday, April 8, an incredibly rare and spectacular experience will be on offer to hundreds of millions of people in North America.
Most will miss it, instead having a peek at a partial solar eclipse many hundreds of miles from where the action really takes place—the path of totality.
For many, a trip to the path of totality will be impossible, with work, school, family commitments or an inability to travel hampering their ambitions.
Millions of others, however, will be—and likely already have been—dissuaded from embracing April 8’s total solar eclipse because of the media’s developing obsession with traffic, safety and weather.
Yes, the traffic may be terrible before, during and after April 8’s total solar eclipse. Eclipse glasses—including free pairs—may be in short supply by then, stoking fears about safety. It might be cloudy, blocking the view. It’s April, after all. All of that might happen. How can the sight of the moon crossing the sun be worth all this fear and confusion?
It is. It so is. America needs a complete rethink.
Nothing To Fear
The endless articles about the risks, inconveniences and annoyances are designed to play into your existing fears about the coming eclipse.
You’re forgetting why all those risks, inconveniences and annoyances exist—and why, in the long term, they are utterly trivial. “It’s the most awe-inspiring sight you will ever see in your life,” said Dr. Tyler Nordgren, an Ithaca, New York-based astronomer, author of Sun Moon Earth and eclipse artist at Space Art Travel Bureau, in an interview.
He’s referring to the few minutes of darkness during the total solar eclipse, during which it’s possible to remove your eclipse glasses and gaze with the naked eye at the sun’s tenuous outer atmosphere normally overwhelmed by the light from its surface. There is nothing more beautiful in nature. “That moment of totality is so brief, so fleeting, so precious—do not take your eyes off that corona for a second,” said Nordgren. “The stunning visual spectacle evokes a feeling of awe all on its own.”
Why waste this gift?
Traffic is backed up in the northbound lanes of Interstate 57 following the solar eclipse on August … [+]
Trivial Issues
It’s inevitable that you’ll hear more about worst-case scenarios around the total solar eclipse than reasons to go experience it. That’s because most news journalists don’t understand enough about total solar eclipses to convey their rarity and brilliance. Many seem unable to dispense even basic advice about the importance of being inside the narrow path of totality.
Hence, the three trivial issues are endlessly talked about: traffic, lack of safe eclipse glasses and the probability of terrible weather.
People sit in traffic every day. Eclipse glasses are always in short supply just before an eclipse. Clouds can vanish precisely because of a solar eclipse.
The weather is only of any relevance at all because totality is so spectacular, but it’s usually framed in terms of “should you bother?” Yes, you definitely should bother. “Clouds are all driven by heating of the ground, so if the ground cools, clouds can dissipate,” said Jay Anderson, a meteorologist and eclipse chaser at Eclipsophile. “What surprises people is how rapidly it can disappear—it can even go from a 70% cloud cover to 1% in the space of five to 10 minutes.”
Only Listen To Experts
Experienced eclipse chasers roll their eyes at the lack of understanding around what’s really important about a total solar eclipse. They’ve seen it all before, from eye doctors that say you shouldn’t look at the totally eclipsed sun with the naked eye (you must!) to TV presenters who claim their city will see “90% totality” (it doesn’t exist!). The logic they often offer is that there’s no point battling traffic to visit the path of totality when you can get 90% of the experience by staying in your backyard. They have no idea that a 90% partial eclipse is a 0% total eclipse. You’re either in the path of totality or you aren’t. It’s not a sliding scale—it’s an in-or-out scenario.
It’s this misrepresentation of the path of totality that will arguably rob many of the sight of their lives on April 8. That path will be about 115 miles wide and stretch from Mexico to Canada via parts of 15 U.S. states. If you’re outside the path, you see only the partial phases. You can check exactly where you need to be using this interactive map, this eclipse simulator and on this eclipse look-up.
If you hear advice not to bother visiting the path of totality, instantly conclude this: that person knows nothing about total solar eclipses.
The path of totality on April 8, 2024.
Connection And Joy
All of that media bluster around total solar eclipses fades to nothing as the last beads of sunlight disappear through the moon’s valleys, and the world around you darkens dramatically in just a few stunning seconds. To stand in a crowd of people all in the moment and all dumbfounded, like you, is a very special experience.
“Part of the appeal of a total solar eclipse is this feeling of connection of joy,” said Nordgren. “The communal nature can make the awe even more powerful and memorable.” Perhaps more than anything else, totality puts your place in the universe in perspective. Maybe it’s that daunting prospect of profundity that gets people looking for excuses to miss it—like traffic, safety and weather.
No Regrets
Have you ever met anyone who traveled into the path of totality on August 21, 2017 to see the “Great American Eclipse” and regretted it because of the terrible traffic afterward? I doubt it. Traffic congestion is expected to be a major issue, especially on interstates. In fact, traffic impacts could be even greater than at the 2017 eclipse because of the increased number of major metro areas close to the path. Ideally, those traveling into the path of totality should arrive one or two days early and plan to stay an extra day after. Day visitors should prepare for heavy traffic and allow extra time when traveling.
If this puts you off, you’ve misunderstood how irrelevant it will all feel on April 8 when you join the minority of humans to have ever experienced the wonder of a total solar eclipse.
“What do you tell a skeptic? It’s so hard because it’s difficult to describe. It’s a feeling. I was amazed,” said Trish Erzfeld is Director of Perry County Heritage Tourism in Perryville, Missouri and chair of Missouri’s Task force on the 2024 Great North American Eclipse. “People ask me why I’m working so hard for 2 minutes and 40 seconds, bit it’s not really the minutes and the seconds that we’re working for. It’s the life times that we inspire.”
Worth Any Sacrifices
So wait in traffic, camp or sleep in the car, eat simple food for a few hours to get yourself in the right place at the right time, then back home afterward. Any money and time you spend, the effort you expend and the temporary discomforts you may have to endure—all of it will be worth any slight sacrifices you have to make.
For the ephemeral nature of totality and the sense of awe it evokes is priceless. “Experiencing a total solar eclipse requires no scientific knowledge,” said Nordgren. “It just requires you to be there.”
A path of totality is coming to North America on April 8. You owe it to yourself to be inside it.
For the latest on all aspects of April 8’s total solar eclipse in North America, check my main feed for new articles each day.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
