Unless you have been literally in a cave for the last six months, you have probably heard about the total solar eclipse that will occur on April 8th. This eclipse is a bigger deal than the last one because not only will more people be able to see this one (its shadow is double the width of the last eclipse) but also the duration is almost double the last time. In some locations, the event will last more than four minutes.

You probably also noticed the news coverage being a little more intense because much of the Dayton/Cincinnati area is in what they call the “path of totality.” This path of totality is where the darkest shadow of the moon completely covers the sun. If you are outside this path, you will see a partial eclipse, but you won’t be able to see the corona, the sun’s atmosphere, and there will not be total darkness. I’ve seen it described as “interesting, but not memorable.”

But I have also heard that hotel rooms in the area have been booked for months and authorities have been warning spectators to have plenty of fuel and food in their vehicles in case there are crowds and traffic jams when the eclipse is over. So, is getting into this path of totality worth it? I was wondering that myself when I found this description (see it here) written by Eric Davis, a pastor in Wyoming. He was able to be in the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse. He wrote this:

But the total solar eclipse was like nothing I have ever seen before. There were those final, eerie, darkening minutes before totality. The bizarre feeling as it went from day to night in about 90 seconds. Cows mooing hysterically in the field next to me. The beads of light peering through the moon’s craters. The diamond ring effect. The temperature instantly dropped fifteen degrees. Then, totality. The sun’s atmosphere blasting forth in praise to God; the white, jagged rays bursting from behind the blackened moon for a full two minutes. And there was the 360 degree sunset (two sunsets in one day!). It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. It was utterly stunning; a spectacle that is emblazoned in my mind forever. I’m still wondering if I really saw it as it was completely different than anything in all creation. I can almost understand why humans have venerated that ball of burning hydrogen for millennia.

Eric Davis

Another author, who operates the site www.eclipse2024.org, said that those who are watching even a 99.9% eclipse will not experience the “full, jaw-dropping, knee-buckling, emotionally-overloading, completely overwhelming spectacle” that those in the path of totality will encounter.

So, I’ve decided to risk the traffic and the crowds in order for my family and I to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event. It seems worth it. I hope you decide to go too.

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God bless you. Stay hopeful! ❤️

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