Embrace the Dark

December 21, 2023

Today, December 21, is the Winter Solstice. It's a day when science nerds think about the annual passage of the Earth around the Sun and how the tilt of our planet's axis makes this the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere... a day when poetry nerds think about Robert Frost's short but haunting poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening... a day when those who track the rhythms of the seasons are thinking about when the light will be our friend again. It's a day we are fascinated with darkness. Which mans...
t's the perfect day to plan for the Great North American Solar Eclipse happening in just 109 days! Those in the path of totality on Monday, April 8, 2024 will experience a few minutes of sudden darkness as the Moon blocks the light from the Sun. It is a spine-tinglingly profound experience. During a total solar eclipse, yo u feel, with your whole body, how our universe works, in a way you can't get from any book or video. I traveled to the path of totality of the 2017 eclipse in Missouri with my daughter Ella. I went in a skeptic (What's the big deal about a few minutes of darkness?), but came out a convert, so much so that I came back to Rochester and immediately started organizing to help our area make the most of our great good fortune to be in the 2024 path.

The parts of North America not in the path of totality will experience a partial eclipse. Still pretty cool, mind you, but not the same—either you're in totality or you're not, and 99% coverage is not totality. Here are a few sped-up simulations from my friend Dan McGlaun at Eclipse2024.org, showing how the Moon's path across the Sun looks different depending on where you are on the ground.

You can see Dan's eclipse simulations for cities throughout North America in my new article, What Will The Eclipse Look Like from My City? Show your kids!

After 2024, there won't be another major North American eclipse for 21 years, and not another one in Rochester for 120 years. So try to get your family into the path on April 8! Trust me: They'll treasure this memory for the rest of their lives. 

—Deb