A lot of people have been talking about the upcoming solar eclipse and how it will be stronger than the one we saw seven years ago.
Physics of the sky say that one place on Earth will be completely dark, and this year’s Eclipse will last longer than the last one. In fact, when the sun is fully hidden, the moment of total darkness will last twice as long as it did during the last Eclipse.
Two hundred thousand people are planning to go to viewing areas in Illinois to see the event. Millions of people around the world are also planning to travel to watching areas to see the event. Experts call the point of total darkness “totality.” A lot of places that are very famous and have a lot of people will experience it.
“This is going to be the most populated eclipse in the US, with 31.5 million people able to just walk outside of their homes to experience it,” said Dr. Kelly Korreck, the eclipse program manager for the US space agency.
During this time, NASA plans to send rockets and jet planes into the sky for a number of tests. “We’re flying airplanes because, besides the fact that it’s really cool, getting high into the atmosphere lets you access wavelengths of light that you can’t do from the ground,” said Dr. Amir Caspi from the Southwest Research Institute.
The Eclipse’s shadow will begin in the Pacific Ocean and move at 1,500 miles per hour across the Earth. Eclipse fans are excited because it’s the best chance to see and study the sun’s corona. They also said that because so many places will be able to see it this time, that is a better time to learn more about different areas and study them.
