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Astronomers are a little unsure of the applicability of this index, but NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer is all in favor.
One of my all-time favourite facts is that solar eclipses are actually a very rare thing to happen in space. There is no reason why but our moon just happens to be the right size/distance to have this happen.
I’ve never seen one in person, but the next one is on the 8th of April crossing Mexico and the US. If you have the chance and are able, go check it out, if only to gloat on an internet stranger longing for his first total eclipse.
Saw one when I was 9 like 20 years ago. Still one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Definitely worth a trip if you can.
And keep in mind that the difference between a total eclipse and a partial eclipse is massive. It’s worth it to find a spot that is in the line of totality.
One passed over my area while I was at university, and the professor whose class we were meant to be in just said the day beforehand that he wasn’t even going to bother scheduling anything for the first hour because he didn’t expect anyone to be in. There’s a famous hill-top cemetery in the city, and sure enough I saw basically all of my classmates there too
There’s a famous hill-top cemetery in the city, and sure enough I saw basically all of my classmates there too
That was an unexpected dark turn. Glad you live to tell their story!
As Moon is slowly moving away, at some point in the future there will be no more full eclipse. And there is 2 full eclipse by year !
Nah, it’s just a moving away, then moving closer again thing over millions of years. Balance between gravity and centrifugal force.
This is incorrect. The moon is moving away from the earth and will stop. At some point in the future the tidal forces will balance out and the earth-luna system will be tidally locked. From that point on they will remain locked in orbit neither moving away or towards one another unless some other large gravitational force perturbs them (e.g. an extra solar planet wandering through the solar system and passing by earth-luna).
I’m gonna be dead center for it here in Ohio, so excited. Got my welding helmet ready to watch it and the day off.
Fuck yes, enjoy bud. I’ve read people not using high enough rated welding goggles and getting eye damage though. I’d stay on the safe side and get appropriate solar eclipse glasses. You’ll be looking directly at the sun for several minutes after all.