Eclipse Facts & Links

• Last total solar eclipse in Ohio: June 16, 1806
• Next total solar eclipse in Ohio: September 14, 2099
• Next total solar eclipse in USA: August 23, 2044

• Max totality: 15:15:57 in CLE
• Duration of totality in CLE: 3:50 
• Speed of Moon's shadow (umbra) at totality in CLE: 2,187 mph
• A 111.6 mile wide band in the state of Ohio will experience this total solar eclipse

For centuries, eclipse maps have depicted the shape of the Moon's umbra on the ground as a smooth ellipse. But the shape is dramatically altered by both the rugged lunar terrain and the elevations of observers on the Earth. The true shape of the umbra is more like an irregular polygon with slightly curved edges.

• Totality will last longer than it did during the total eclipse visible in the US in 2017. Then, the longest period of totality was experienced near Carbondale, Illinois, at 2:42. But as the eclipse enters Texas, totality will last about 4:26 at the center of the eclipse's path. This is because the moon will be relatively closer to the Earth during the 2024 eclipse. The closer proximity will allow the eclipse to be larger and last longer in duration. 

When a solar eclipse reaches totality, nocturnal wildlife sometimes wake up, thinking that it’s nighttime, and non-nocturnal wildlife might think it’s time to head to sleep!

• Only 21 total solar eclipses have crossed the lower 48 states in the entire existence of the United States.
• On average, a total eclipse happens somewhere on the Earth only once every 1.5 years, but any spot on Earth only sees a total eclipse every few hundred years. 

The Sun is 400x wider than the Moon, but it is also 400x farther away, so they appear to be the same size in our sky. When the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, we can experience total eclipses. But when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and the Moon is at its furthest point from the Earth, it won't block all of the sun, and we have annular eclipses, which show a dark disk on top of a larger, bright disk. 

• Predicting time/location is one of messiest problems in orbital physics - requiring factoring in every tug of gravity from every object in solar system with gravity to predict exact location of sun, earth, moon in the future 
• It wasn't until 1715 that anyone came remotely close to predicting time/location of a solar eclipse, and he was 4 minutes off. 
• NASA extrapolates 38,000 different overlapping orbital patterns, but can't predict past next 1,000 years. 

Links
World Atlas of Solar Eclipse Paths - maps for every 20 years from 2000 BCE to 3000 CE!
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Spotify Eclipse Playlist
CWRU's Cooking Club's Eclipse Buckeyes - Sunday 1-3pm

Celebrate Arab American/MENA/SWANA Heritage Month!

We recognize the 3.5 million Arab Americans that exemplify “so much of what our country stands for: hard work, resilience, compassion, and generosity.”

The official name of the month is Arab American Heritage month. But while Arab denotes connection to the Arabic language, Middle Eastern, or MENA are geographical terms describing the region of Middle East & Northern Africa.

But since the “Middle East” is actually Western Asia, rather than a political term, SWANA is a decolonial and geographical term that represents the various communities located in Southwest Asia and North Africa, from Morocco to Afghanistan. It includes such people groups as Assyrians, Circassians, Israelis, Kurdish, Palestinians, and Berbers. 

In addition, a new category is being introduced in the next national census (2030). Middle Eastern or North African, separate and distinct from the white category. This is the first time in nearly three decades that the government has changed how it asks these question