A partial solar eclipse that occurred in June 2021 is seen above the United State Capitol in Washington D.C. Chautauqua County will be in the path of a total solar eclipse set to occur in April. NASA photo

FREWSBURG — On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse is set to darken the sun at about 3:18 p.m.

Tom Traub, chairman of the 2024 Solar Eclipse Committee for the Martz-Kohl Observatory, said the eclipse will be an “exceptionally rare and spectacular event.”

“Along a narrow path crossing North America from Mexico to Canada the moon’s shadow will race across the Earth’s surface causing daytime to become evening twilight,” Traub said. “What we will be experiencing is a total solar eclipse. This is caused by the special alignment of the moon’s orbit passing directly between the sun and Earth and the moon being located at that point.”

He added, “Because of the tilt and elliptical orbits of the moon and Earth, this alignment does not happen every month, but usually once or twice a year but can be as many as seven times on rare occasions.”

Traub said sometimes the moon is too far away to totally cover the sun or it passes slightly above or below the intersection, covering it only partially, therefore creating a partial solar eclipse. If the moon is too far away from Earth or if Earth is too close to the sun, then an annular solar eclipse occurs and the moon is too small to cover all of the sun’s surface.

“In fact, over a span covering 4500 — 1500 BC to 3000 AD — years this area will only have 21 total eclipses with an average of once every 214 years between them,” Traub said. “For most people this will be a once in a lifetime experience. So unless you are willing to travel elsewhere around the world this is the one to see.”

This will be the first time the path of totality for a total solar eclipse will be passing in the area since June 16, 1806. There was one just north of the boundary of the area on Jan. 24, 1925. Another total solar eclipse will not be seen again in the area until Oct. 26, 2144.

Traub said the amount of time the moon will cover the sun during the eclipse will vary depending on location.

“The path’s southern limit edge passes just south of Titusville and Warren, Pa., and northwest of Olean, and these areas will see less than one minute of totality,” Traub said. “Closer to the centerline of the moon’s shadow, which is 110 miles wide and lies in lake Erie and comes back on shore just south of Buffalo, you can expect over three minutes and 40 seconds of coverage. In our region near Silver Creek, you will see three minutes and 42 seconds of totality. Ripley will see three minutes and 40 seconds; Jamestown, two minutes and 45 seconds; and at the Martz Observatory two minutes and 12 seconds of coverage.”

Traub warned that since the event involves looking at the sun, people need to use safe, certified, proper protection from the sun’s light both before and after the moon covers it. Sunglasses will not protect from damage and Traub said it is important to buy ISO certified solar eclipse glasses or viewers for proper protection. The glasses should show the ISO 12312-2 rating or the equivalent of that.

“Even under this protection it is recommended that you look at the sun for less than three minutes at any given time,” Traub said. “When the sun is totally covered by the moon and not visible in your solar glasses you can safely remove the glasses to view the spectacle. Remember to put them back on before the moon starts uncovering the sun.”

PLANS IN PLACE

With the solar eclipse occurring on a Monday afternoon, Traub suggested going out a day or two before and finding a spot at home or in the neighborhood to be able to see the sun clearly from around 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Less people on the road creates less traffic, and Traub added that local authorities should start planning on how to manage traffic.

“Schools that are open may be impacted due to the event occurring on a Monday with possible long delays concerning the bussing of students,” Traub said. “Most schools in the area have already planned a no school day for the students’ safety. During this solar eclipse we are asking the public to not come up to the observatory since we will have limited parking available and we need to keep the roads clear for local traffic and emergency vehicles to pass.”

The observatory will be doing a live video feed during the event and will publicize those details closer to the date. They are also planning several other eclipse presentations in February, March and early April 2024. For more information contact the Martz-Kohl Observatory at 716-569-3689 or visit the observatory’s website at www.martzobservatory.org.

Traub shared other facts about the upcoming eclipse and others, including that it is one of a cycle of eclipses.

“The cycle of eclipses is called a Saros and was discovered by the ancient chaldean astronomers and occurs with each eclipse in the cycle being 18 years 11 days and eight hours between them,” Traub said. “One half of this cycle is called a Sar and is the cycle for Lunar Eclipses. The eight hour difference means that each eclipse path after will be approximately 120 degrees westward and either slightly north or south of the current path across the earth’s surface. A Saros will last between 1225 to 1551 years and contain between 69 to 87 eclipses with 39-59 being either total, annular or hybrid.”

There are currently 39 active cycles occurring and each has a number, with cycle numbers 117 to 155 currently active. April’s eclipse will be number 30 of 71 in Saros 139, which began on May 23, 1519 and ends on July 13, 2763.

Traub noted that many of the longest total solar eclipses will come from this cycle. One Sar later on April 14, 2033 a Lunar Eclipse will occur. The last eclipse from 139 was over Africa and Europe on March 29, 2006. The next eclipse will occur on April 20, 2042 over Indonesia. The last eclipse from 139 over the United States was on March 7, 1990 and the next will be on May 11, 2078 over Florida.

“In any given year as few as two or as many as seven solar eclipses can occur in various combinations of total, annular or hybrid,” Traub said. “The next year with seven will be in 2038 and the last time was 1982. The speed of the lunar shadow as it passes over the area will be 2290 miles per hour and will be 110.8 miles wide.”

Traub added that because the moon is not a perfect sphere but contains mountains, valleys and craters, its outline is irregular. This will cause some portions of the sun’s lighted surface to show around the edge, creating a diamond ring effect. For April’s eclipse, this will occur for seven seconds before and 13 seconds after totality.

A HISTORY OF ECLIPSES

Between the dates of 1500 BC to 3000 AD there will be a total of 1761 eclipses. The majority will be partials where the coverage will be less than 99% and the path does not fully cross this area. In the local area there will be 16 total solar eclipses, 17 annular solar eclipses and one hybrid, which is a combination of both types.

For past eclipses, the longest time of totality was June 16, 1806 with four minutes and 41 seconds. The shortest time was 10 seconds on Jan. 19, 1868. The longest annular eclipse was eight minutes 57 seconds on Dec 3, 1125 BC and the shortest annular eclipse was one minute 33 seconds on Sept 21, 670 BC.

The Jan. 24, 1925, total eclipse lasted one minute 22 seconds in Silver Creek with Mayville and areas south being out of the path of totality. The last solar eclipse to pass over the local area was the annular total eclipse of May 10, 1994, which lasted between four minutes and 25 seconds to six minutes and five seconds depending on location.The next solar eclipse to pass over the area will be on July 23, 2093, and will last between three minutes and 57 seconds to four minutes and 13 seconds depending on location.

During the next 20 years after April’s eclipse, there will be 11 partial solar eclipses in the area, happening on March 25, 2025, with a 0.5% coverage of the sun; Aug 12, 2026, with a 5.9% coverage; Jan 26, 2028, with a 1.6% coverage; Jan 14, 2029, with 49%; Nov 14, 2031, with 1.3%; March 30, 2033, with 4.8%; Jan 5, 2038, with 24.5%; July 2, 2038, with 1.8%; June 21, 2039, with 2.6%; Nov 4, 2040, with 55.6%; and Aug 12, 2045, with 56.4%.

“The last total solar eclipse to cross a portion of the United States was Aug. 21, 2017, and the next will be Aug. 12, 2026, in northwestern Alaska,” Traub said. “In the lower 48 (states), we will see the next one on Aug 12, 2045.”