Covid-19 Risk When You Are Outside
The covid topic is just an intro for the real news—the upcoming total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th.
Since people will be gathering outside in fairly small groups, the risk of spreading covid-19 and other airborne diseases is infinitesimal. Something like one in a million. (Email me for the calculation if you’re interested.) Still, exercise your usual level of care if you are inside buildings before or afterwards, otherwise, just enjoy the eclipse!
The Path of the Eclipse
More than 30 million people live in the eclipse’s path from Texas to Maine, and another four million are expected to travel to be able to see it. I traveled and saw the 2017 eclipse, a memory I will always cherish.
There is an hour-plus of build-up, during which the moon takes an ever-larger bite out of the sun’s disk, then up to four minutes where the entire sun is blocked—that time goes by fast!—and then an hour-plus on the tail end.
Below is a link to the eclipse map—on their website, you can click on a location to get the details, and scroll down further for more in-depth info. The map shows the path of totality between the blue and red lines, with the center (best) locations along the green line.
https://nso.edu/for-public/eclipse-map-2024/
The closer you are to the center of the path, the longer is the total eclipse, and the more pure is the image. When you are closer to the edge of the path, a little light leaks around the edge on one side.
Experiencing the Eclipse
Don’t ignore early and late stages. Stand under some trees where the light is glimmering through the leaves and making bright spots on the sidewalk below. Then observe the shape of these bright spots! (Hint—you, and the tree, have created a “camera obscura” with dozens of projected images of the sun on the sidewalk.)
It is only during the few minutes of totality when the earth darkens—but not black like midnight, only like a strange dusk or dawn. The sun’s corona streams out around the edges, and the temperature on earth drops noticeably. Be especially aware of the sounds of nature around you, just before, during, and after totality—you may hear unusual sounds and silences of the birds and insects.
But Will It Be Sunny?
Maybe. For most locations, the chances are it won’t be totally sunny. It’s a roll of the dice.
Here are the historical climate odds for many locations:
For example, there are 3:1 odds of being sunny in San Antonio, Texas, but only about 50-50 in Montpelier, Vermont—here is the graph for Montpelier:
Eye Protection
I hope you already know enough to never look at the sun with your bare eyes—or sunglasses, or between your fingers, or through your shirtsleeve, etc.! The few minutes of totality are the ONLY time when it’s safe to look with your bare eyes. Otherwise, special eclipse-darkening film is readily available if you order it now. Binoculars are also useful (with removable darkening film).
Here is a low-cost option—small two-power binoculars with darkening film, $7 from telescope-maker Celestron:
Is It Worth It?
Yes! This is a chance of a lifetime—well, one of two or three chances of a lifetime, depending on how far you want to travel. The next one, that travels from California to Florida, is two decades away, in 2045!
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