Mexico, Canada, US Plunge Into Darkness As Total Solar Eclipse Hits

‘Diamond Ring’: Mexico, Canada, US Plunge Into Darkness As Total Solar Eclipse Hits

New York: Lakhs of people from United States, Mexico, and Canada witnessed the rare celestial event – a total solar eclipse on Monday evening. The American space agency NASA live-streamed the eclipse on its official broadcast channel on YouTube so that space enthusiasts could watch the rare event. Notably, the western and northern regions of New York, for the first time in nearly a century, witnessed a total solar eclipse. People flock to the Mexican beachside resort town of Mazatlan, which was the first major viewing spot in North America, to witness the rare celestial event. The solar eclipse began with a partial eclipse in southern Texas near Eagle Pass on the southern border.

It is noteworthy that this year’s total solar eclipse was a historic event because after this it will not be visible across the contiguous US again until August 2044. An annular eclipse won’t appear across this part of the world again until 2046. An annular eclipse is a celestial event when the moon can’t completely block the sun.

Earlier, CNN reported, Mexico’s Pacific coast is the first point of totality on the path, expected at 11:07 am local time (2:07 pm ET), and the eclipse is expected to end on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland at 5:16 pm local time (3:46 pm ET).
Emphasising safety while watching the total solar eclipse, earlier NASA shared a post on X, stating, “We want you to watch the total solar #eclipse. We just don’t want it to be the last thing you see.”

NASA stressed that it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing.
“Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing,” it said.
It further stated that viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.

“When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun,” it added.
NASA has cautioned not to stare directly at the Sun through any kind of lens since the concentrated solar rays could harm your eyes badly. Also, as per a report by CNN, weather conditions like temperature, wind speed, and humidity can change due to a solar eclipse when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth casting a shadow on our planet.

In the path of totality, temperatures drop by around 10 degrees, additionally, it also start to feel more humid and winds and cloud coverage could drop.

Scientists understand the concept of how solar material flows from the sun in a better way by observing the sun during eclipses, according to CNN.

Plasma, filled with electrically charged particles, is the driving force behind space weather, shaping the behavior of the ionosphere – our planet’s outermost atmospheric layer. This ever-changing weather in space isn’t something mundane; it directly impacts the effectiveness of GPS systems and long-haul radio communication. Why? Because these services hinge on satellites and radio waves that operate within the ionosphere.