Harrison Lilley – Staff Writer
hjl5363@psu.edu

An exciting event is in the books for the Erie area on April 8th, where the sun will be blocking the sun completely over the Erie skies during the afternoon hours for 4 minutes and 28 seconds, according to the Associated Press. A significant amount of people will likely travel to the Erie area for the event, which will likely cause some traffic congestion, as the eclipse is going to be more sophisticated than other areas of the United States. This solar eclipse will last twice as long as the total solar eclipse that occurred in 2017.

This  eclipse is unique in many ways, one being that this eclipse will take an altered and more dense route, where it will first enter the Pacific coast, pass through the Lonestar state and Oklahoma, next through the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic region, and then finally New England. It is guessed that 44 million people reside inside the path of totality, which is 115 miles wide, according to the Associated Press, which are cause for concern about significant traffic hurdles.

Some things that people should be aware of about the eclipse include, but are not limited to, that the moon will block the sunlight, due to the fact that the moon will line up to perfection. “The moon will line up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight. It will slice a diagonal line from the southwest to the northeast across North America, briefly plunging communities along the track into darkness.” says the Associated Press.

A total of 15 states will get to witness the eclipse, but some states will have more of an advantage over others. Tennessee and Michigan will hardly be able to witness the big event. Cities that are expecting a significant crowd are Dallas, TX, Little Rock, AR, Indianapolis, IN, Cleveland, OH, Buffalo, NY, and Montreal, Canada, as the action will be greatest in these locations, according to the Associated Press.

Another key factor to the enjoyment of the eclipse is that the moon will be the closest it will be for the month the day before the Solar Eclipse. “That puts the moon just 223,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away on eclipse day.” says the Associated Press. The moon will also have higher brightness that day due to the proximity to Earth, which will create a longer period of darkness that will occur.

When the moon is in shorter proximity to the Earth, combined with the sun being more distant than usual, the totality of the eclipse might be as long as 7 and a half minutes, and an eclipse this long has not occurred since 1973, in Africa, according to the Associated Press.

People are reminded that sunglasses won’t be enough to protect you from damage to your eyes if you attempt to look at the sun directly. Special eclipse glasses are a must if you want to observe this fascinating event without risking damage to your eyes. When the sun is blocked completely, it is safe to remove your eclipse glasses at this point, but eclipse glasses are essential before and after the totality occurs, according to the Associated Press.

*Information for this article was obtained by U.S. News and World Report, and the Associated Press.*