North America Prepares for 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

North America Prepares for 2024 Total Solar Eclipse¹

　　A total solar eclipse will take place in North America on April 8. Millions of people will be able to fully² experience the event, which is expected to darken the sky for more than four minutes.

　　A total solar eclipse happens when the sun, moon and Earth perfectly³ line up. This results in sunlight being blocked. The quality of the observations will depend on weather and the position where people watch the eclipse from.

　　The path of totality – meaning places where people will see a total blockage⁴ of the sun – will stretch across areas of Mexico, the United States and Canada. People in North America who are outside of this path will still be able to see a partial eclipse.

　　The American space agency NASA says the eclipse will begin over the South Pacific and reach Mexico's Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. Pacific Time. It will then enter the United States in Texas.

　　The path of totality will then pass through a series of states before heading out from the northernmost state of Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Ontario and move across the nation before leaving northeastern Canada into the Atlantic.

　　An estimated 44 million people live inside the 185-kilometer-wide path of totality, with about 32 million in the U.S.

　　The eclipse is expected to last four minutes and 28 seconds, about twice as long as the one that darkened skies in 2017. The U.S. is not set to see another coast-to-coast total solar eclipse until 2045.

　　NASA's eclipse watch program is led by Kelly Korreck. She told The Associated Press the eclipse will permit many people to experience the "wonder of the universe without going very far."

　　People outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial eclipse. The farther these people are from the path, the less the sun will be covered. For example, experts say Americans farthest from this path – such as in the northwestern cities of Seattle and Portland – will see about one-third of the sun blocked.

　　As was the case with past eclipse events, people are being warned about the dangers of looking directly at the sun during the event. Since normal sunglasses are not considered effective protection, special eclipse glasses are suggested for eclipse watchers. The glasses should only be removed during moments when the sun's face is covered during complete totality.

　　A total solar eclipse develops in several different parts, or stages. The event starts with a partial eclipse as the moon begins to pass between Earth and the sun. During this stage, a partial blockage leaves the sun looking a bit like a banana.

　　During the next stage, called Baily's Beads⁵, points of light from the sun shine around the moon's edges. This effect is produced by the moon's differing landscapes. NASA notes this stage is quite short and "may not last long enough to be noticeable to all observers of the total solar eclipse."

　　In the Diamond Ring stage, a single bright spot appears along the lunar edge even as the sun's atmosphere leaves a ring of light around the moon. This effect – which comes right before totality – looks similar to a diamond ring.

　　After totality, the other stages then repeat as the moon keeps moving along its path until the end of the eclipse.

　　Total solar eclipses⁷ generally happen every few years, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse will arrive in 2026. It will be observable along the northern edges of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

　　North America will not experience totality again until 2033, with that one only passing over Alaska. It will happen next in 2044, with totality limited to Western Canada and the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota.

　　The next coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the U.S. is expected to happen in 2045. NASA says that one will stretch from Northern California to Cape⁶ Canaveral, Florida.

　　Words in This Story

　　landscape – n. all visible features of an area of land

　　notice – v. the act of observing or paying attention to something

1 eclipse   

v.使黯然失色，使相形见绌，日食，月食

参考例句：

• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。
• There will be an eclipse of the moon next month.下个月有月食。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 blockage   

n.障碍物；封锁

参考例句：

• The logical treatment is to remove this blockage.合理的治疗方法就是清除堵塞物。
• If the blockage worked,they could retreat with dignity.如果封锁发生作用，他们可以体面地撤退。

5 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

6 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

7 eclipses   

（日、月）食( eclipse的名词复数 )； 消失，黯然失色

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。
• The moon eclipses the sun. 月亮遮住太阳。