- A solar eclipse can cause a sunset-like glow in every direction . . . called a “360-degree sunset” . . . which you MIGHT notice during the 2024 eclipse. That effect is caused by light from the sun in areas outside of the path of the total eclipse, and only lasts as long as totality.
- A town called “Eclipse” in Texas will see a 94% partial solar eclipse.
- An estimated 31.6 million people live in the path of totality for 2024’s solar eclipse, compared to 12 million during the last solar eclipsethat crossed the U.S. in 2017, per NASA.
- Solar eclipses allow for a glimpse of the sun’s corona—the outermost atmosphere of the star that is normally not visible to humans because of the sun’s brightness.
The corona consists of wispy, white streamers of plasma—charged gas—that radiate from the sun. The corona is much hotter than the sun’s surface—about 1 million degrees Celsius (1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit) compared to 5,500 degrees Celsius (9,940 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Venus will be visible 15 degrees west-southwest of the sun 10 minutes before totality, according to Astronomy. Jupiter will also appear 30 degrees to the east-northeast of the sun during totality, or perhaps a few minutes before. Venus is expected to shine more than five times as bright as Jupiter.
Another celestial object that may be visible is Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, about six degrees to the right of Jupiter. Gianforte says the comet, with its distinctive circular cloud of gas and a long tail, has been “really putting on a great show in the sky” ahead of the eclipse.
