PARTIAL … The moon slowly passes in front of the sun during the 2024 Great American Eclipse.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
The Great American Eclipse passed over Northwest Ohio on Monday, April 8th. The partial eclipse began around 1:54 p.m. in Northwest Ohio and ended around 4:24 p.m.
Swanton was in the path of totality this time and began its total eclipse around 3:12 p.m. Totality lasted in Swanton for around a minute.
The eclipse this year first started over in Mexico, with the first major city there, Mazatlan, being the first city to reach totality. The eclipse continued along its path into Central Mexico and up into Texas.
Past Texas, the path took it up through the Central U.S. up into Canada and New England, and out into the Atlantic.
Thirty-two million Americans were projected to be living in an area that would experience totality. Some of these cities included St. Louis, Dallas, Fort Worth, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Cleveland. Other major cities across the country were located within 200 miles of the totality zone, with those who lived there experiencing a partial eclipse.
Traffic was heavy in some areas, with many areas, including those in Fulton County, experiencing their traffic issues after the eclipse.
Thankfully, local issues of gas stations, grocery stores, and phone lines being overloaded did not materialize. These issues were possible, and contingency plans were put into place by the local Emergency Management Agency officials.
During and following the eclipse, social media profiles were full of individuals sharing photos they had taken, as well as sharing their experience.
This is an experience that some may not see for some time, if ever again. The next Great American Eclipse, for our area anyway, will not happen again until September 14th, 2099.
This coming eclipse will be visible in parts of Canada, where it will travel into the United States. Part of Montana will be the first U.S. state that experience this eclipse, with it eventually making its way into Northwest Ohio, where the entire area will be under totality.
Part of North America will see an eclipse before then, however, it will not be the only chance to see an eclipse in the U.S. In 2033 part of Alaska will experience totality.
Then, in 2044 totality will envelop western Canada, Montana, and North Dakota. One year later in 2045, another eclipse will stretch from California to Florida.
There are of course eclipse events that can be experienced when traveling abroad as well. So, while an eclipse is not scheduled here for some time, there are other chances to see one.