2024 Solar Eclipse in Pictures: A Coffee Table Book

On April 8, 2024, the Earth passed through the shadow of the Moon. The Moon's shadow moved along a route over 9,000 miles through central Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and southern Canada. The darkest part of the shadow, the umbra, traced a 115 mile wide path on the surface of the Earth along the route, around 50 miles wider than during the August 2017 eclipse. By an amazing coincidence, both the Sun and the Moon currently appear to be approximately the same apparent size ("angular size", about one half of one degree) in the sky. Over the long term, the Moon gradually moves further from the Earth, so we happen to live in times that provide a rather unique experience viewing these rare events.

From any location along the path where skies were clear enough, many were able to see the total eclipse, with the Moon almost completely blocking the Sun. Others in nearby locations only saw the partial eclipse. In some places along the middle of the path of totality, the period of totality lasted for up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds. Because of the wider path of the shadow, this was a couple minutes longer than during the 2017 eclipse. And thanks to the eclipse occurring during a period of maximum solar activity, prominences consisting of large plumes of plasma were visible during totality (see cover and pages 11 - 13). The pictures in this book were taken from Grapetown Vineyard, Fredericksburg TX, about 15 miles from the center line of the eclipse path. It was a partly sunny to mostly cloudy day. Occasionally there would be gaps in the clouds in just the right spot to provide a great view of the eclipse, other times the clouds provided an interesting juxtaposition to the view of the heavenly bodies (pages 4 & 17).