It's a bright, sunny day. Suddenly, rippling waves of light
and dark shadows race across the ground. The sun's
light quickly fades. Darkness falls, and the air cools. You
can even see the stars. The sun is now a glowing halo
of white hanging in the darkened sky. This is known as a
total solar eclipse. On April 8, 2024, millions of people
will get to experience one. And excitement for the Great
North American Total Eclipse is sky high.
Modern scientists know all about total solar eclipses. It's
when the moon passes between Earth and the sun. But
long ago, people could only guess why the sun
vanished during the day. In ancient China, people
thought a dragon had swallowed the sun.
In a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between the sun and
Earth, blocking the sun's light. Image credit: NASA/Aubrey
Gemignani
But today's experts can predict when and where
eclipses will happen. The total solar eclipse on April 8th
will cast darkness across a huge part of North America.
It will stretch across parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. More than 30 million people in the United States
will be in its path. This is called the path of totality. What does that mean? In these locations, the moon will fully block the
sun. Sky gazers will experience total darkness. This will last for up to 4 minutes and 27 seconds. People will be able to
see the sun's corona. This is gas that surrounds the sun. We usually can't see it because it's hidden by the sun's bright
light. Summarize the article you read using 3-4 complete sentences.