We aren’t sure yet, but we are likely the only place in the galaxy that has the perfect total eclipses. If humanity ever manages to unite and take to the stars, there’s a strong argument to be made for our flag to just be a black field with a solar corona. We may even have to worry about too much extra-terrestrial eclipse tourism.
If there’s another planet in our solar system where you can almost get an earth-like “perfect” solar eclipse, I find it highly unlikely that there isn’t a single other planet in our entire galaxy where one might also see a “perfect” solar eclipse.
Both of Mars’ moons are either too small or too far from the planet to completely occlude the sun, but your article is about a moon of Saturn.
I’m not sure I would count a planet that no human or rover has a chance to see the eclipse, and at that distance the sun is TINY, but I’ll bet that Pandora completely occludes both the sun and it’s corona.
It’s highly likely that no other planet in the galaxy has the correct conditions for a perfect solar eclipse.
It’s also massively over hyped imo. I did the last one and the coolest part was the shadows, but the actual darkness was super underwhelming. Hearing everyone say it was like some spiritual experience makes me roll my eyes a bit. It got dark for a bit. It does that shit every day smh.
People aren’t amazed because it gets dark for a bit. People are amazed because it reminds us that the sun and the moon are real 3d objects incredibly far away, not just images in the sky. I can understand how it is a spiritual experience for a lot of people.
It’s also an incredible coincidence (or otherwise, depending on your beliefs) how the distance and size of the two bodies matches perfectly for the total eclipse to be a thing at all.
Sure, but if the moon was much bigger you wouldn’t be able to see the Sun’s corona. Also, life as we know it wouldn’t be possible, but that’s neither here nor there.
I mean it was cool, don’t get me wrong. But greatest thing I’ve ever seen? IDK, I saw a space shuttle launch live. That was way cooler. Dark Knight in IMAX is a contender. The coolest thing I’ve ever seen is basically the entire country of Iceland. The Eclipse is maybe top 20.
It’s possible I just did the eclipse wrong. I am glad you enjoyed it. I don’t quite understand why so many people take it personally that I was not moved by it.
Space shuttle is pretty cool. Personally wouldn’t put any movie experience in the same universe as the eclipse.
Like it’s entirely possible that we’re the only planet in the galaxy that has eclipses like that and quite possibly the only one in the universe with life on it to witness such an event.
And you’re stood there watching as a incomprehensiblely big ball of rock held above us by nothing more than its own angular momentum happe s to perfectly cross infront of and block out and even possibly bigger ball of fusing gas and do it so perfectly it blocks the disk of the sin but leave the corona and solar flares still visible to the naked eye, you watch the world around start to die in the most unnatural way, the temperature drops and then suddenly its night time in the middle of the day, the animals go crazy, you have a 360° sunset and the sun is replaced by black disk surrounded by s ring of fire. Its pretty much a supernatural event.
So I just really cannot comprehend how anyone could /possibly/ compare it watching a movie. That’s like comparing witnessing the birth of your own child to finding a dollar on the street.
But all that stuff is still true whether you see it yourself or not. I don’t quite get this line of reasoning. Were you unsure about the nature of astral bodies before that point?
Again, I have no intention of diminishing your experience, unlike you mine. I am super happy that you had a surreal experience. I just felt extremely underwhelmed personally.
Also, people keep saying this about animals, but I didn’t witness that at all. My dog slept through it.
That seems likely, and unfortunate. To a lot of people it looks like all of the pictures that get posted to the Internet after the eclipse, except a fair bit more impactful because it’s there. The sky turns dark blue, you see the coronal glow as tendrils of light coming away from the hole in the sky where the sun was a moment before.
Easily one of the more beautiful things I’ve seen, and I’ve seen quite a few.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solar_eclipses_in_the_21st_century
Not a lot of TOTAL eclipses. And the next US total is 20 years.
Unless you can afford to fly (and stay) internationally, it might very well be once in a lifetime to witness totality.
South East Asia here, no total eclipse for the next 200 years. And I slept through the last one when I was in middle school, FML.
2035 is reasonably promising, depending on where you are
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_September_2,_2035
Nope LOL. The edge is barely skate by where I live.
Trust me, I looked it up with a whole bunch of “eclipse prediction” websites.
Oh are you like at the equator? Yeah that’s gonna be a really hard location to get and you will need to go north or south a bit for most of them.
You’re so knowledgeable. And yes, I’m ~2500km up north from the equator.
Nah, the crash of the 1999 AN10 in August, 2027 keeps humans survivors from seeing that one.
There are two crossing through eastern Australia in the next decade, maybe take a trip there?
We aren’t sure yet, but we are likely the only place in the galaxy that has the perfect total eclipses. If humanity ever manages to unite and take to the stars, there’s a strong argument to be made for our flag to just be a black field with a solar corona. We may even have to worry about too much extra-terrestrial eclipse tourism.
Solar eclipses on Mars are underwhelming.
I can see eclipses being an interstellar tourist attraction.
I was talking to some friends about it actually. Probably makes for memorable vacations.
Source?
It looks like you would get a perfect solar eclipse on Mars if Pandora were spherical.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2018/08/10/earth-is-not-the-only-planet-in-the-solar-system-that-gets-total-solar-eclipses/
If there’s another planet in our solar system where you can almost get an earth-like “perfect” solar eclipse, I find it highly unlikely that there isn’t a single other planet in our entire galaxy where one might also see a “perfect” solar eclipse.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/08/solar-eclipse-mars-phobos-nasa-photos/73242215007/
Forbes messed up their math.Both of Mars’ moons are either too small or too far from the planet to completely occlude the sun, but your article is about a moon of Saturn.
I’m not sure I would count a planet that no human or rover has a chance to see the eclipse, and at that distance the sun is TINY, but I’ll bet that Pandora completely occludes both the sun and it’s corona.
It’s highly likely that no other planet in the galaxy has the correct conditions for a perfect solar eclipse.
People tend to forget only 37% of US americans have a working passport.
That’s because only 63% of us can afford international travel and most of the 37% goes to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean.
It’s also massively over hyped imo. I did the last one and the coolest part was the shadows, but the actual darkness was super underwhelming. Hearing everyone say it was like some spiritual experience makes me roll my eyes a bit. It got dark for a bit. It does that shit every day smh.
People aren’t amazed because it gets dark for a bit. People are amazed because it reminds us that the sun and the moon are real 3d objects incredibly far away, not just images in the sky. I can understand how it is a spiritual experience for a lot of people.
It’s also an incredible coincidence (or otherwise, depending on your beliefs) how the distance and size of the two bodies matches perfectly for the total eclipse to be a thing at all.
Technically it would be fine for the moon to be bigger or closer and you’d still get a total eclipse.
Sure, but if the moon was much bigger you wouldn’t be able to see the Sun’s corona. Also, life as we know it wouldn’t be possible, but that’s neither here nor there.
It turns out, animals get freaked out when sun does weird thing, and we’re animals too
EDIT: I went and it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. That still just means I was bowled over by a rock casting a shadow. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
This is the most wrong comment I have ever seen on this entire fucking website.
I can assure anyone reading this, that this guy is just being a contrarian to seem better than other people.
The eclipse was the single greatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
I mean it was cool, don’t get me wrong. But greatest thing I’ve ever seen? IDK, I saw a space shuttle launch live. That was way cooler. Dark Knight in IMAX is a contender. The coolest thing I’ve ever seen is basically the entire country of Iceland. The Eclipse is maybe top 20.
It’s possible I just did the eclipse wrong. I am glad you enjoyed it. I don’t quite understand why so many people take it personally that I was not moved by it.
Space shuttle is pretty cool. Personally wouldn’t put any movie experience in the same universe as the eclipse.
Like it’s entirely possible that we’re the only planet in the galaxy that has eclipses like that and quite possibly the only one in the universe with life on it to witness such an event.
And you’re stood there watching as a incomprehensiblely big ball of rock held above us by nothing more than its own angular momentum happe s to perfectly cross infront of and block out and even possibly bigger ball of fusing gas and do it so perfectly it blocks the disk of the sin but leave the corona and solar flares still visible to the naked eye, you watch the world around start to die in the most unnatural way, the temperature drops and then suddenly its night time in the middle of the day, the animals go crazy, you have a 360° sunset and the sun is replaced by black disk surrounded by s ring of fire. Its pretty much a supernatural event.
So I just really cannot comprehend how anyone could /possibly/ compare it watching a movie. That’s like comparing witnessing the birth of your own child to finding a dollar on the street.
But all that stuff is still true whether you see it yourself or not. I don’t quite get this line of reasoning. Were you unsure about the nature of astral bodies before that point?
Again, I have no intention of diminishing your experience, unlike you mine. I am super happy that you had a surreal experience. I just felt extremely underwhelmed personally.
Also, people keep saying this about animals, but I didn’t witness that at all. My dog slept through it.
I am so sad for you. Your life must have been a painful disappointment up until today.
Man with people like you it’s really like I never left reddit.
I’m sure everybody thinks you’re really cool because you’re not impressed by a thing that impresses a lot of people.
People like to find meaning in all sorts of things.
Did you forget to look at it?
No one is getting hyped for it being dark outside, they’re hyped for being able to see the corona of the sun with their naked eyes.
Maybe that’s it, my vision isn’t that great. It just looked like a blurry ring of light in the sky to me.
That seems likely, and unfortunate. To a lot of people it looks like all of the pictures that get posted to the Internet after the eclipse, except a fair bit more impactful because it’s there. The sky turns dark blue, you see the coronal glow as tendrils of light coming away from the hole in the sky where the sun was a moment before.
Easily one of the more beautiful things I’ve seen, and I’ve seen quite a few.
Or go outside at midnight, which is technically a total eclipse.
Uh, how do you figure that?
I guess it’s the sun being “eclipsed” by the Earth? Since it’s between us and the sun?
That’s all I got, and it feels like a hell of a stretch
Yes, lame joke. I have to stop posting before I finish my coffee.
I hear that
Yeah, all I could think of. Not exactly the same thing…