The last time Fort Thomas got to experience a solar eclipse was back in 2018. The city got a 93% totality of the eclipse.
Sophomore Ava Muzumdar, a student who saw the eclipse, said this; “I remember getting glasses from Moyer and lining up outside the school to look at it. I honestly don’t remember much of what it looked like but I know I thought it was cool.”
This year, on April 8, the city will get what is for many, the closest thing to a total solar eclipse! The elementary schools will be holding their students until 3:30 P.M., to allow them to see most of the eclipse.
Looking at the map, Fort Thomas is just on the cusp of the totality band that stretches across the United States. This results in what Eclpise2024 states as a “magnitude 99.2% [eclipse].” This means a 99.2% totality.
Newscientist.com has stated that a total eclipse takes place every 400 years for any specific area, making this a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Now, what is an eclipse?
It’s pretty well known but important to make sure everyone knows what it is. A solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. This creates the iconic “ring of fire” that hangs in the sky. This is in contrast to the lunar eclipse, which is when the Earth’s shadow obscures the moon, making the Sun’s reflected light a much redder hue.
2024’s solar eclipse is much more unique because the moon will be much closer to Earth during the eclipse. This will produce much more intense darkness since more of the Sun will be covered by the moon.
However, despite this darkness, the Sun is still very damaging to the eyes. There are special glasses designed to allow for the direct viewing of eclipses, to ensure that our eyeballs don’t get fried from the ultraviolet rays. They’re fairly pricey, but it’s worth it to see this beautiful solar display!