Saint Andrew Events

Eclipse 2024

On April 8, 2024 a total eclipse of the sun will be visible over much of the U. S. In some locations the sun will be totally obscured for more than four minutes. It is not hard to imagine how worrisome this kind of event might have been to pre-scientific civilizations. (Even in our Gospels, the sun is darkened at the time of Jesus’ death.) The sun was and is the source of warmth and light, necessary for the growth of all of our crops and therefore necessary for our survival.

Now that we realize the sun and moon are simply spherical objects in our physical solar system, we know there is nothing to fear when the sun briefly goes dark. What was once a terrifying heavenly sign is now a tourist attraction.

But mystery remains. The kind of eclipse we experience on Earth is an unlikely thing. Our Sun is about 400 times larger in diameter than our moon.  But the moon is just the right distance from us to appear to be almost exactly the same apparent size as the Sun. That’s a strange coincidence that produces not only total eclipses when the moon appears slightly larger than the sun but also annular eclipses when the moon appears to be slightly smaller than the sun.

Scientists will take the opportunity of this total eclipse to exam the solar corona, which we normally cannot observe due to the brightness of the sun itself. The corona is significant because it is a chaotic region of plasma that periodically sends bursts of energy towards the Earth. The largest of these energetic bursts can do damage to electronics and communications on Earth and we do not know how to predict when and where they will occur. Therefore, we study it when we can with the hope of gaining enough understanding to protect our crucial infrastructure.

Even though we have gained a little understanding of the sun and moon so that eclipses no longer terrify us, there is still danger looming in our solar system and this danger is amplified by our ignorance of solar behavior. Our science has taken a few steps forward, but we know there is much more to learn.