All eclipses are rare, but the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 is particularly exceptional, due to the maximum duration of its centrality phase.
The first solar eclipse of 2024 is approaching. On Monday, April 8, the Moon will temporarily obscure the entire Sun, during a total eclipse. Mainland France cannot see it. However, part of overseas France can admire the astronomical phenomenon in its partial phase. If you are not there, it is still possible to enjoy the solar eclipse online and live.
Why the solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 is “exceptional”
Eclipses are rare events. However, that of April 8 is even more unique than one can imagine. The Paris Observatory even describes it as “ exceptional “. This is because of a specific parameter, which concerns the duration of the eclipse.
The maximum duration of the centrality of this eclipse is estimated to be 4 minutes and 34 seconds. “ We have to go back to the total solar eclipse of March 9, 2016 to find a duration almost as long (4min9s), before waiting for the next one which will occur on August 2, 2027 (6min23s), visible from the south of Spain and from all Maghreb countries », Explains the observatory.
An eclipse is said to be central when “ the axis of the cones of shadow and penumbra meets the earth’s surface », again according to the Paris Observatory. A central eclipse can be annular, mixed or total, like that of April 8, 2024 — the total phase of the eclipse here lasts 3 hours and 16 minutes.
Observing a solar eclipse requires anticipation, even more than for a lunar eclipse. You don’t just have to be on the half of the planet where it’s daytime to see a solar eclipse. You also have to be in the shadow of the Moon — in the band of centrality or totality of the eclipse.
The duration of centrality, a maximum of 4 minutes and 34 seconds for the April 8 event, is not the same everywhere. It varies depending on where you are on the centrality band. This duration “ will decrease as we move away from the location of this maximum, located in the heart of Mexico. For example off the coast of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, it will only be 3 minutes », Indicates the Paris Observatory.
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