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North America has experienced two transcontinental full solar eclipses within the last seven age , and these satellite range of a function compare the crisscrossing way of life of total .
In 2017 , a totalsolar eclipsemoved from northwestern regions to southeasterly region , sweeping from Oregon to South Carolina and cast a shadow across 14 U.S. province coast - to - coast for the first metre in 99 age . Then , just about two hebdomad ago , onApril 8 , 2024 , another entire solar eclipsetraveled from the Pacific to the Atlantic , but this clip move SW to northeast .
This composite image compares the paths of totality across North America during the 2017 and 2024 total solar eclipses.
Incredibly , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ’s ( NOAA ) GOES-16 planet tracked both total solar eclipse from space , documenting the location of the synodic month ’s darkness cast upon Earth in 5- to 10 - minute separation . late composite image equate the two solar occultation and their intimately opposite paths of totality — the brief menstruum of time during which the moon completely covers the face ofthe Sunday — that tangle across North America .
" The sizing of the lunar month ’s shadow on the Earth during the total solar eclipses were very different between 2017 and 2024 , " officials said ina financial statement .
The images comprise multiple snapshots of the moonshine ’s fantasm as fell across dissimilar location along the way of life of entirety . An overlay of images taken during the two solar occultation really emphasizes how the paths of totality differed . planet imagerywas also used to create video of each solar eclipse , along with a slider figure of speech that grant viewers to toggle between composite photos and compare difference observe in the size , duration and darkness of the moon ’s shadow between each several eclipse .
This composite image compares the paths of totality across North America during the 2017 and 2024 total solar eclipses.
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The total solar eclipse in 2017 was seeable from within a minute corridor across Oregon , Idaho , Wyoming , Montana , Nebraska , Iowa , Kansas , Missouri , Illinois , Kentucky , Tennessee , Georgia , North Carolina and South Carolina . By comparison , the April 8 total solar occultation extend across Mexico , Texas , Oklahoma , Arkansas , Missouri , Illinois , Kentucky , Tennessee , Michigan , Indiana , Ohio , Pennsylvania , New York , Vermont , New Hampshire and Maine , climax in southeasterly Canada .
There were other notable differences , too , including the maximal length of total , which lasted about 2 minutes and 40 seconds in 2017 , but up to 4 arcminute 28 seconds in 2024 . The breadth of the path of totality was also immensely dissimilar between the two solar eclipses , spanning only 70 miles ( 113 kilometers ) in 2017 compare to a thumping 115 miles ( 185 km ) in 2024 . The latter is due tothe Lord’s Day approaching solar maximumlater this year .
Originally published on Space.com
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