A total solar eclipse is always a surreal experience, but April 20’s event in the southern hemisphere caught me off-guard. I’ve seen seven of them, so I know what to expect. It gets dark, the temperature drops, and beads of sunlight dance around the Moon before the fit is perfect—and our star’s whispy white corona is revealed.
That’s the prize. To stand and stare at our Sun with naked eyes. Is it worth traveling around the world to see? No doubt in my mind about that—an eclipse of the Sun is the best reason to travel.
But this one was different. Sure, it was a rare hybrid solar eclipse, but that’s just a scientific description of the geometry of the path of totality. It actually meant we on the Pacific Explorer—a cruise ship of 2,000 eclipse-chasers anchored in the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia—got just 60 seconds to see the precious corona.
Sometimes less really is more.
The corona was precious. It was huge. I’ve never seen it bigger. The Sun is highly active right now (you’ve seen how often the Northern Lights have been seen lately, right?), but now I appreciate just how active it is. It’s usually possible to see a few pinkish prominences exploding on the Sun’s surface. This time I couldn’t count them. There must have been at least six, including one huge triangular-shaped prominence and another vast arching loop. Wow. Our Sun is angry!
But as I stood on the deck of the Pacific Explorer there was one sight that really shocked me. Baily’s beads. They’re named after an English astronomer and they’re the last few droplets of sunlight traveling through the mountain ranges and valleys of the Moon. They begin and end every totality, but on this occasion they began and went on … and on. They went on so long I wasn’t sure when it was safe to properly look with naked eyes. No sooner had totality begun than it was over, but the ending—usually a few more beads and a surge of light creating a powerful “diamond ring”—also seemed to go on forever. Just like the chase for the perfect totality.
The next hybrid-total solar eclipse—featuring a similarly dazzling display of Baily’s beads, no doubt—won’t happen until 2031, but there was only ever going to be one question on every eclipse-chaser’s lips post-totality: when is the next eclipse? It’s in October, followed by one in April 2024—and both are in North America.
Disclaimer: I am the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com and author of “The Complete Guide To The Great North American Eclipse of April 8, 2024.”
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.