The upcoming solar eclipse will be a sight to behold as millions of people across North America can witness the moon blocking the sun for more than four minutes in some areas. The eclipse will be visible along a path starting in Mexico and then crossing through the United States and into Canada. Eclipse enthusiasts are gathering in places along the “path of totality,” including the city of Fredericksburg in central Texas, where the total eclipse will occur shortly after 1:30 pm (18:30 GMT). The eclipse will last longer than the total eclipse that streaked across parts of the US in 2017, clocking in at up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds.
The four-minute eclipse will be a “data gathering bonanza” for researchers as 600 high-altitude balloons will be released, a 4km-long kite will point a measuring instrument at the sun, and rockets will launch from an island in Virginia. Jets will also take off to fly inside the path of totality with their noses open and cameras on. The total eclipse will provide an opportunity to gather more data than ever before, with better tools, more smartphones, and more research centres under its path.
According to NASA, total eclipses can last anywhere from 10 seconds to about seven-and-a-half minutes. Some cities along the path of totality include Mazatlan, Mexico; San Antonio, Austin and Dallas, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania; both Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario, site of the famed waterfall, and Montreal, Quebec. A partial eclipse will be visible in North America outside the path of totality.
About 32 million people in the US live within the path of totality, with federal officials predicting another five million people will travel to be there. Experts have advised eclipse viewers to use protective solar glasses to prevent eye damage from looking at the sun with the naked eye. Only during the few minutes of totality can the sun be safely viewed without such glasses, they said.
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