The Great American Solar Eclipse and Other Astronomical Phenomena of 2024

BarcelonaAmerica is preparing for the great astronomical phenomenon of 2024: the total solar eclipse that on April 8 will be visible in a wide area of the continent, from Mexico to Canada, crossing the United States from the southwest to the northeast. The corridor of total darkness of the eclipse will cross cities as large as Dallas, Cleveland or Buffalo, triggering interest in the phenomenon. Multiple events are already scheduled to follow it, in stadiums such as the McLane stadium in Waco, Texas, in museums or in observatories surrounded by nature such as the one on Mont Mégantico in Quebec.

The eclipse has also put much smaller towns on alert, which could see their population double or triple due to the phenomenon. In a report published in September in the local newspaper Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, journalist Daniel McFadin explained the case of a small bed & breakfast in the town of Mountain View, Arkansas, which on April 8 of this year saw all its rooms booked for the day of the eclipse within minutes after a television report broadcast across the country cited this town as one of the best for2.

Even from Catalonia, you can book a trip to see the eclipse today. The company Astroxperiences offers the possibility of travelling to Mexico during the days before and after the occultation of the Sun accompanied by an expert astrophotographer, Juan Carlos Casado, who has photographed dozens of phenomena of this type.

Of all the eclipses he has witnessed, Casado especially remembers the one that occurred in Antarctica in November 2003. The conditions for photographing it on the ground were expected to be excessively difficult, but this Basque astrographer who has been living in Catalonia for twenty years went on a very expensive charter flight with the intention of doing so.

He says that the ticket cost him 12,000 dollars, because apart from being an exclusive photographic trip, the eclipse could only be seen from one side of the plane, which meant that the entire row had to be purchased to participate. He describes it as a fascinating 14-hour flight that gave him the sensation of being in space. He says that what impressed him most about that experience was seeing the lunar shadow coming up behind them. He describes it as a "dark sheet" that moved forward and divided the landscape between a part that was already dark and another that was still light.

Countdown in Catalonia

This will be the last total solar eclipse before another total occultation on August 12, 2026, which will be seen mainly in the Iberian Peninsula. The phenomenon will also be visible in Greenland and in the far west of Iceland, but it will be mainly between the Cantabrian Sea, the Ebro Valley and the Balearic Islands where it can be enjoyed more easily. This suggests that the avalanche of tourism, taking into account that the phenomenon will occur in August, will be significant.

Today, anyone who wants to can already book a trip to see the 2026 eclipse. The American company Eclipse Traveller offers a ten-day, nine-night trip to the Peninsula focused on the eclipse, a phenomenon that in this case is expected to be seen from Alcañiz. Is it possible that some hotel in Alcañiz already has reservations made for more than two and a half years from now? The main hotels in the town are either not aware of the eclipse or are declining to discuss anything related to reservations, but there is no doubt that the north and east of the Peninsula will be the epicenter of the first total solar eclipse visible in the area since 1905.

In Catalonia, the corridor of total occultation will pass through Terres de l'Ebre, but astronomical calculations predict that even at the furthest point in Catalonia from the Ebro, Portbou, the occultation will be 98%.

According to Juan Carlos Casado, the most magical place to see it will surely be Mallorca, where the phenomenon will coincide with a very low sun, which may favor that during the occultation a kind of mane can be seen better: the solar corona, the outermost part of the solar atmosphere.

The astronomical agenda for 2024

The Pons-Brooks comet

Comet Pons-Brooks, a massive block of ice, dust and gas about 30 km in diameter, will approach Earth's orbit in the spring. It is estimated that it will be visible with binoculars or even with the naked eye in a very dark sky around April 21. Comet Pons-Brooks approaches Earth every 71 years and its approach happens to coincide with a total solar eclipse in America. Over the past few months, several explosions of the comet have made it brighter and easier to identify with the right material.

Jupiter and the Moon

During the first months of the year, Jupiter will continue to appear quite bright and perfectly clear to the naked eye at night. On the night of January 18, the Moon will appear very close to the planet when it is in the first quarter. The following months will also be able to see this conjunction: on February 14 and March 13, the Moon and Jupiter will again be very close at night, but the planet will be less bright and the hours to see it will be fewer. Towards the end of the year, the apparent encounters of Jupiter and the Moon will be seen in the early morning.

Supermoons in autumn

The clearest coincidences between perigee and the full Moon this year will occur on September 18 and October 17. In both cases, there will be a ten-hour difference between the cyclic point of closest proximity between the Earth and the Moon and the full Moon. To see a supermoon that coincides very precisely with the perigee, we will have to wait until 2034. When the full Moon coincides with the perigee, the cyclic point of closest proximity between the Earth and its satellite is seen up to 14% larger than when it coincides with the apogee, the point of greatest distance, but this.

Quadrantids

The first meteor shower of 2024 is already taking place these days. It reached its peak on January 4th at around 10 in the morning, when it is estimated that it could have had an activity of up to 120 meteors per hour. Until January 12th the meteors will still be visible at any time of the night entering the atmosphere at a speed of up to 70 kilometers per second. The origin of the Quadrantids is not entirely clear. It is speculated that it could have to do with the asteroid 2003 EH1.

Eta Aquariids

The peak of one of the most notable meteor showers of the year will arrive between May 5 and 6, around 11 p.m. official time in the Peninsula according to data from the National Geographic Institute. The new moon on May 8, very close to the peak incidence of the Eta Aquariids, will favor being able to enjoy this meteor shower that will be especially attractive during the early hours of the days around May 6, but that can be seen between mid-April and the end of May. The Eta Aquariids are associated with Halley's Comet and are a meteor shower that is seen most clearly from the southern hemisphere.

Perseids

The peak of the tears of Sant Llorenç will arrive as every year around August 12th. This year, the moment of greatest activity will occur during the day, but it is still an active enough shower to be able to see some stars. The best time to enjoy it will be when the Moon leaves, which will happen around midnight on the 12th, a little earlier on the previous days and later on the following days.

Geminids

Along with the Perseids and the Quadrantids, it is one of the most active meteor showers of the year and, unlike other phenomena of this style, it is associated with the remains of an asteroid, not a comet. The maximum activity of this shower can be expected on the night of December 13, when it is estimated that around 120 stars per hour can be seen in a dark sky context. The problem for 2024 will be the coincidence of the peak of the phenomenon with the full moon on December 15, which will prevent enjoying the meteor shower.

Decaffeinated lunar eclipses

There will be two unremarkable lunar eclipses in 2024. The first will be a penumbral eclipse, meaning that although the Moon will be slightly obscured, no part of it will be completely hidden. It will occur during the early hours of March 20, with its maximum at ten minutes to seven in the morning.

The second eclipse will be partial, but only 8% of our satellite will be hidden. It will occur in the early hours of September 18, with its maximum at four-thirty.