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A new map predicts that the path of Monday’s total solar eclipse may be narrower than experts previously thought. But if you’re right at the end of the road, don’t change your plans just yet.
New amateur calculations suggest the widely accepted path may be off by just a few hundred yards. In fact, the potential change in the eclipse’s path is so small that a NASA spokesperson told the Detroit Free Press that the US space agency has no intention of changing its own calculations.
So even if the new calculations are more accurate, they likely won’t matter much to most of the millions of stargazers hoping to witness North America’s first total solar eclipse in seven years.
Still, if you’re teetering on the edge of a total solar eclipse’s path, there are a few things you should know.
Don’t stop looking up after the eclipse.Three other celestial events visible in April
NASA has not changed the route calculation
The new eclipse calculations were kindly provided by John Irwin, a member of a team of amateur astronomers analyzing Bessel element celestial events.
According to the group’s website, Irwin reconsidered the path of the eclipse, making “adjustments to account for the elevation of the terrain both around the moon’s limb and on the surface.” These new calculations slightly change the path of the total solar eclipse, giving some warning days before the 115-mile-wide eclipse passes from southwest to northeast over parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. There is a possibility that it may be emitted.
If Irwin’s claims are correct, some places, including some cities in Ohio, could experience totality, while other places, including additional cities in Texas, could experience totality. There is sex.
But don’t worry too much. Not only has the new analysis not yet been peer-reviewed, NASA told the Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that its predictions have not changed.
But NASA spokesperson Tiernan Doyle acknowledged that “small but real uncertainties about the size of the Sun” could narrow the eclipse’s path.
What does Irwin’s new path to wholeness indicate?
The red line shown below represents the totality’s original path, and the orange line represents the path updated with Irwin’s new data.
Click on the embedded map to see more details, but Forbes has identified 15 areas whose locations along the route may have changed in some way.
What is the best course of action? As a precaution, those who aspire to witness wholeness should move into the projected shadow as far away from the edges as possible.
“As you move towards the center of the path of totality, even if it’s just a mile or two, the length of totality that people can see will quickly increase,” Doyle told the Free Press. .
What else to know about the April 8 solar eclipse
Hundreds of cities in 13 states will be in the middle of this year’s total solar eclipse, and for people in the United States, the total solar eclipse will begin in Eagle Pass, Texas, and end in Lee, Maine.
This is the last solar eclipse like this to be seen in North America until 2044, so you won’t want to miss it.
And don’t forget. A total solar eclipse is a rare opportunity for skygazers to observe it with the naked eye, but until it is safe to do so, eclipse glasses will be required. Certified eclipse glasses are essential for spectators to avoid the sun’s rays, which can damage the retina.
However, when the moon moves completely in front of the sun and blocks its light, we know that it is safe to remove the sun for short periods of time.
When planning your eclipse viewing, this guide will help you find last-minute eclipse glasses. Meanwhile, these interactive maps help chart the times and durations in which totality will occur in cities along the route.
Contributor: Maryam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer
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