EARTH — We last had an amazing total solar eclipse in this country back in 2017. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost seven years, but this week, we’re in for a treat, as the second total solar eclipse of the decade comes to our shores this week.
Totality won’t be visible from our viewing area, as the path of totality will be a bit to the south of us. But still, the eclipse event as seen from here will be better than that of 2017, appearing more total in our area. Between 70 percent and 80 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon when viewed from Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico, depending how far south you are when you are viewing. The further south, the greater the percentage of eclipse you will witness.
This year’s event for us will begin before noon on Monday, April 8 2024. Remember, when viewing a solar eclipse, you must only view with proper eclipse viewing glasses, or by making a pinhole projector with a piece of paper or cardboard. For an interesting view, try using a kitchen colander and project a bunch of tiny eclipse images on the sidewalk. But never look directly at the sun during any portion of a solar eclipse.
The first view of partiality will begin in our area around 11:30 a.m., when you will see an image of the sun with a small bite covered. As you watch, the bite will gradually increase in size. The entire eclipse event will last for about two and a half hours, from beginning to end. The greatest percentage of coverage will come at about 12:40 p.m., more than an hour after the eclipse began.
Then, depending on your vantage point, you will see a great deal of the sun’s surface concealed by the passage of the moon in front of the sun. Up to eighty percent of the sun may be concealed, depending on how far south you are viewing.
The entire eclipse won’t conclude in our area until about 1:50 p.m. Of course, all calculated times are Mountain Daylight Time, for our entire viewing area.
Take advantage of this opportunity to view a solar eclipse. Another total solar eclipse won’t occur in the United States until 2033 in Alaska, or in 2044 only in Montana and North Dakota. The next total solar eclipse event to be viewed from coast to coast and in multiple states won’t occur until August 12, 2045. Then, we won’t have to go far, for totality will cross much of our viewing area, in southern Colorado.
But if you can’t wait until then, you better get outside on Monday and view the best solar eclipse to be visible from our area since the Annular Eclipse viewed in New Mexico in October 2023.
For our planetary views, Jupiter is sinking ever lower in our western sky. Above Jupiter all month you can find faint, blue Uranus. But Uranus is so distant, it requires binoculars to view it. The opportunities to find it will improve for a couple of weeks as it will appear closer to Jupiter as the gap between the two massive planets narrows when viewed from Earth.
On Saturday April 6, Mars and Saturn will appear in the morning sky near each other. As they rise, try to locate the fine crescent moon below the pair, almost directly below Saturn, just above the eastern horizon before sunrise. You will need diligent viewing practices to find the moon before the rise of the sun. But the gathering will be spectacular. You will need a low and clear horizon to find the faint, fine moon before the sun lightens the sky.
On Wednesday April 10, the gap between Mars and Saturn will have closed considerably, as Saturn continues to climb more quickly than Mars. Both will appear in a relatively dark sky before sunrise, and there will be about a half a degree of separation between the two. That’s about the width of a full moon. From Wednesday on, Saturn will appear higher in the sky than Mars.
Saturn appears to climb more quickly because it is further from the sun, and moving more slowly in a wider orbit. As Earth moves around the sun, we are catching up to Saturn and Mars. But Mars is moving away at a greater pace, so we will catch up to Saturn before we pass Mars. As we gain on Saturn, it climbs higher more quickly because it is moving slower than Mars.
But by the time the two are at their nearest position to each other, the moon will have moved around into the evening sky once again. On the evening of Wednesday April 10, after we have observed the morning planets at their closest position, we can find the crescent moon in the evening sky, just above to the right of Jupiter.
The moon will be about four degrees from Jupiter and Uranus on Wednesday evening. Above the moon, find the Pleiades star cluster. The following evening, Thursday April 11, the crescent moon will actually be closer to the prominent star cluster, but it will reside above it to the left when the sun sets.
In February, you will remember the Quarter Moon was near the Pleiades star cluster high in the sky at sunset. But as the constellations and star patterns progress ever westerly during the year, the moon will encounter them earlier each month.
Now, this month, two months later, the Pleiades have moved further to the west, and the crescent moon will encounter them a full four days before the first quarter phase, where they encountered them in February.
Astronomical times and distances of naked-eye objects for this weekend:
Sun Set = 7:25 p.m.
6 minutes later than last week
93.050 million miles from Earth
190,429 miles further than last week
1.646 million miles further than its nearest in January
Mercury Set = 8:07 p.m.
34 minutes earlier than last week
42 minutes after the sun
58.118 million miles from Earth
11,224,022 miles nearer than last week
70.984 million miles nearer than its furthest in February
Jupiter Set = 9:55 p.m.
20 minutes earlier than last week
542.629 million miles from Earth
5,946,879 miles further than last week
172.304 million miles further than its nearest in November
Mars Rise = 5:10 a.m.
14 minutes earlier than last week
84 minutes before the sun
192.006 million miles from Earth
2,482,592 miles nearer than last week
44.978 million miles nearer than its furthest in October
Saturn Rise = 5:18 a.m.
25 minutes earlier than last week
76 minutes before the sun
978.358 million miles from Earth
5,557,202 miles nearer than last week
17.154 million miles nearer than its furthest in February
Moon Rise = 6:00 a.m.
28 minutes later than yesterday
223,000 miles from Earth
794 miles nearer than yesterday
17,602 miles nearer than last week
Nearest is 221,557 miles
Furthest is 252,665 miles
Venus Rise = 6:03 a.m.
6 minutes earlier than last week
31 minutes before the sun
152.745 million miles from Earth
2,035,903 miles further than last week
125.908 million miles further than its nearest in August
Sun Rise = 6:34 a.m.
10 minutes earlier than last week
93.062 million miles from Earth
12,457 miles further than last evening
189,928 miles further than last week
1,658,644 miles further than its nearest in January
New Moon occurs on Monday, April 8, at 12:20 p.m. We’ve gained 17 minutes of daylight since last week, and 74 minutes since last month, and three hours 15 minutes since the December Solstice. Our nearest planetary neighbor is currently Mercury. It is 34,932,231 miles nearer than the sun. No planet in the dark sky for seven hours 15 minutes. This is the duration between Jupiter set at night and Mars rise in the early morning. No planets are visible with the naked-eye during this period.
