T minus one month until the total solar eclipse
Let’s hope April 8 is not a seasonably overcast or rainy day in Arkansas. We’re one of 13 states in the path of the Great American Eclipse of 2024, and a phenomenon like this isn’t expected to happen again until 2045.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the sun, moon and Earth align perfectly in the cosmos. The moon blocks the sun’s light from traveling to the Earth, diminishing the sun’s light to a slender ring called the corona. The temperature drops, stars appear and animals are tricked into thinking it’s dawn or dusk.
While Arkansans have had a chance to experience past solar eclipses in some capacity — like the annular event in October 2023 and a partial eclipse in 2017 — the last time Arkansas was in the path of totality was over a century ago. In fact, Arkansas has only been in the path of totality for a solar eclipse twice in recorded history, according to the National Park Service: once in 1834 and again in 1918.
The moon will cover portions of the sun as it passes over Arkansas for about three hours, but totality will only be visible during a 10-minute window. That’s just about enough time to play Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” twice.
The total solar eclipse is a big to-do. The Arkansas Department of Transportation estimates 700,000 extra vehicles will travel into the path of totality, and experts have long been preparing safety plans in case anything goes sideways. Eye safety is also paramount when viewing the eclipse. Don’t pull a Donald Trump circa 2017 and look directly at the sun. Come prepared with a pair of eclipse glasses — the Central Arkansas Library System and the North Little Rock Library are stocked — so you can look at the sun without risking retinal damage.
