Today in Science: Get ready for the solar eclipse!

Science, insight, illumination April 5, 2024: Only three days until the eclipse! This is your eclipse prep email where I'm debunking five myths about solar eclipses, how to be truly present and experience the big event, and the remarkable ways that eclipses advance science. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor TOP STORIES Credit: Jason Drakeford and Jeffery DelViscio/Scientific American; NASA The Truth About Solar Eclipses On Monday, April 8, the moon will completely obscure the sun over a 115-mile strip of land stretching from Mexico to Canada. Some 32 million people in the U.S. will be in the path of the total solar eclipse, and millions more will see a partial eclipse in the areas surrounding "totality." Today I'm dispelling five myths around solar eclipses (say that 10 times fast).  Myth #1: Eclipses are common and mundane. No other rocky planet in our solar system has the right proportions to experience total solar eclipses: The sun, which is about 400 times larger than the moon, is located about 400 times farther away from Earth. And the moon's unusually large size (compared to other moons in the galaxy) and position relative to Earth also make eclipses possible. Mercury and Venus lack moons entirely, while Mars's two satellites are dinky captured asteroids capable of only partial eclipses.  From 1924 to 2023 only 13 eclipses crossed over the contiguous U.S. or Alaska. And over the next 100 years only 11 more will be visible. Credit: Shuyao Xiao; Source: NASA (data) Myth #2: You can look directly at the eclipse with bare eyes since the sun will be blocked. Looking directly at the sun (even during an eclipse) without eye protection can permanently damage the eye within a matter of seconds. Even a few moments can trigger the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species, which are unstable molecules that damage cells. This damage can be long-lasting or even permanent. Eclipse glasses dampen the sun's light way down and are 1,000 times darker than normal sunglasses. Even if you buy eclipse glasses from a reputable source, there are ways to ensure they're not counterfeit. Myth #3: You need special equipment to take a photo of the eclipse. With accessible and cheap materials anyone can take a photo of the eclipse–even with a smartphone! Lucie McCormick, a professional astrophotographer and eclipse chaser, has tips on how to snap the eclipse with any camera you have. Myth #4: People with vision-impairments can't enjoy the eclipse. A planetary scientist and an astronomer teamed up to create a set of tactile graphics, or graphics with raised and textured elements, on the 2024 total solar eclipse. The guide, called "Getting a Feel for Eclipses," illustrates the paths of the 2017 total, 2023 annular and 2024 total solar eclipses, which model the alignment of the Earth, moon and sun as they move through three different paths during the three eclipses. Myth #5: Eclipses happen so fast, they can't possibly be useful for scientific study. A solar eclipse is one of the best ways for scientists to study the solar corona–the outermost, and hottest part of the sun's atmosphere. This atmosphere releases a mysterious "wind" of particles and occasionally unleashes clumps of itself in roiling packages of energy called coronal mass ejections. What we don't know, however, is how or why those things happen. On April 8, astronomers' telescopes will be pointed to the sun's corona, as will two solar probes–one close to the sun itself and the other currently within Mercury's orbit. The data that streams in on Monday should help solve some major mysteries about the corona and solar winds. It won't be the first time that an eclipse has transformed science. Solar eclipses of the past have led to the discovery of the element helium and even cemented Newton's laws of gravity and Einstein's theory of general relativity. Monday's eclipse will be particularly interesting because the sun is at the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. One experiment during the April 8 eclipse will deploy 35 teams of amateurs across the eclipse path, people from Texas to Maine, giving them telescopes that can measure the polarization of light from the ground. Credit: Jason Drakeford and Jeffery DelViscio/Scientific American; NASA How Do You Feel? Maybe you're an eclipse veteran. Maybe Monday's eclipse will be your first. They are rare scientific events, yes, and the next one like it won't occur for decades. But, as astronomer Phil Plait writes, we will experience the eclipse as humans. And humans feel. In the eerie dusk-like light that will blanket you as the eclipse begins, he advises that you not worry too much about capturing a photo of it, but just be present and enjoy this rare cosmological phenomenon.  How to do it: In the minutes before the eclipse is about to begin, put down your phone or device. Take a few deep breaths. Check in with your five senses (What are you smelling? How does the ground or floor feel against your feet?). Such "sense foraging" has been shown in studies to disrupt distracted and wandering thoughts.  What the experts say: "You may be flooded with joy, wonder, awe, a numinous sense of majesty or any of a dozen other emotions," Plait writes. "Your reaction is personal and deserves to be your own. This is what makes the eclipse such a special phenomenon to us. Don't interfere with your interaction with it!" More to Explore For more coverage of this once-in-a-generation event, check out all our eclipse coverage, including: The Victorian Woman Who Chased Eclipses | 21 min listen  Why Do Colors Change during a Solar Eclipse? | 4 min read How Do Animals Respond to a Total Solar Eclipse? | 4 min read Solar Eclipse Experiment Will Fly a Kite to Avoid Cloudy Skies | 4 min TODAY'S NEWS • The world is drowning in plastic. The United Nations Environment Assembly is currently working on a treaty against plastic pollution, but will it help? | 11 min read • Countries from Sierra Leone to Mexico are looking for low-cost, easy ways to protect residents from extreme heat, such as planting shade trees and setting up warning systems. | 5 min read • Chickadees use brain-cell "barcodes" to remember where they stashed their food caches. | 4 min read More News EXPERT PERSPECTIVES • The future is uncertain. We cannot fully predict what will happen to us even one week from now. This unpredictability is partly why eclipses are so magical to us, writes science journalist Dan Falk. "When we contemplate the future, we peer through a dense fog. Nearby objects can be seen in rough outline, while more distant landscapes are shrouded in mist. But with an eclipse, at least a small portion of the fog lifts. Eclipses reveal the regularity at play in a universe that often feels chaotic," he says. | 3 min read More Opinion Whatever your plans to watch the eclipse on Monday, protect your eyes and enjoy! Our reporters will be on the ground in Texas this weekend getting ready for the big event! On Saturday, they'll be broadcasting live and answering your eclipse questions at 12pm ET. Follow along on our website, Instagram and TikTok.   A study of 2.9 million Tweets during the 2017 eclipse showed that those watching the eclipse expressed sentiments of awe and connection with their fellow observers. And that's what I wish for you on Monday--wonder, awe and connection. Connect with me anytime: newsletters@sciam.com. I'll be in your inbox on Monday at the normal time.  —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here. Scientific American One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004   Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American here   Unsubscribe Email Preferences