If you've been sleeping on the North American total solar eclipse of 2024, it's time to start paying attention. The big event — on April 8 — is fast approaching and folks who haven't prepared could find themselves left out in the dark.
eclipse
The alignment of sun, earth and moon will plunge the city into darkness, and as long as the maddeningly unpredictable Northeast Ohio weather cooperates, people will view a spectacle that lasts just under four minutes but occurs only three times in a 638-year span above the city.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, Chicago astronomer Joe Guzman advises Chicagoans to turn their eyes to the skies — but only with proper protection — to witness a partial solar eclipse.
Known as one of the oldest-recorded meteor showers, the Lyrids are expected to produce 10 to 15 meteors per hour for three nights centered around its peak of 8:06 p.m. CST on Saturday, according to EarthSky.
It’s been less than six years since a total solar eclipse cut across the U.S., from coast to coast. That was on Aug. 21, 2017. The next one is predicted to hit Illinois.
Election Day 2022 will kick off with a pre-dawn total lunar eclipse. There won't be another like it until March 2025.
For once, the weather cooperated in Chicago. Astronomers at the Adler Planetarium proclaimed: “What a stellar view!”
If the skies are clear, Chicagoans will have an excellent chance of seeing the eclipse Friday morning, with the best hours for viewing the event being approximately 1:30-4:30 a.m.
If the skies over Chicago cooperate over the next 12 hours, the moon will offer a very rare triple feature.
Wednesday’s “super blue blood moon” marks the convergence of three lunar events, but it will hardly be visible to viewers in Chicago.
Thousands of people swarmed to Carbondale to watch the solar eclipse on Monday. And thousands hit the road as soon as the celestial event was over.
About a dozen different species were under close watch during the event as scientists looked for any changes in behavior.
Chicagoans from all neighborhoods and walks of life came out of the shadows to fix their appropriately covered eyes on the skies.
The last time a total solar eclipse spanned the continental United States from coast to coast was 99 years ago. Thousands joined in the Adler Planetarium’s celestial celebration to mark the occasion.
Onlookers were treated to a clear view of the solar eclipse in Carbondale. “It was a festival sort of atmosphere,” Amanda Vinicky said. “You literally had a beer tent, carnival rides, and band, a whole lot of very excited people wearing garb for the solar eclipse.”
Animal behavior experts noticed the biggest change in one particular species during Monday’s eclipse: humans.