Preparing for the 2024 Solar Eclipse in New Hampshire
Mark the Date for the Stunning New Hampshire April 2024 Solar Eclipse
In early 2024 one of nature’s more spectacular and rarer events will occur in the skies over New Hampshire and several other states throughout the country. We’re talking about a solar eclipse, and not just any solar eclipse but its total variant.
These celestial events are among the most awe-inspiring sky watching events available to humans on Earth, and absolutely worth seeing if at all possible. The early-2024 event is being called the Great Northern Solar Eclipse.
For a total of 3 minutes and 15 seconds, anyone in most of New Hampshire’s territory who isn’t unlucky enough to have their patch of sky blocked by cloud cover will be able to see the moon mostly or completely block the sun to create a daytime twilight that’s unlike anything else in the world. It’s an event that won’t be repeated in the United States for at least a decade after 2024.
Temperatures will drop, daily activity will pause, and anyone who’s ready for the sky show can enjoy something that will stay memorable for the rest of their life. Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is a Solar Eclipse?
In case you aren’t sure exactly how the mechanics of solar eclipses work, here’s a brief breakdown.
These celestial phenomena happen when the sun and the moon align in the daytime sky in such a way that the moon blocks out the sun’s light with its shadow. When this happens, the resulting eclipse of light can either be total, partial or annular. Here’s a brief breakdown of their differences:
- Partial Eclipse: These happen when the moon only partially crosses the path of sunlight as it reaches the Earth, typically producing a crescent-shaped eclipse that can be mostly dark or mostly bright.
- Annular Eclipse: Annular eclipses occur when the moon fully centers itself over the sun’s place in the sky as it passes, but is too far away from the Earth to completely block sunlight. The result is a thick ring of sunlight along the edges of the moon’s silhouette. Thus the name, annulus, the Latin word for ring.
- Total Eclipse: In a total eclipse, the moon fully blocks the sun’s light but from a much closer distance to Earth. Consequently, the darkness is nearly total except for a thin halo of light along the eclipse’s edges. These are the most spectacular eclipses that happen. The April 2024 eclipse in New Hampshire will be a total event in parts of the state.
Where and When Can I Watch the New Hampshire Eclipse?
On April 8th, 2024 peaking at roughly 3:30 p.m. EST, the total solar eclipse that passes over New Hampshire will be visible throughout the north of the state and also further north into Maine and parts of southern Canada. For 3 minutes and 15 seconds, anyone anywhere in the state where the sky is clear will be able to see this celestial event from outside their front door.
What’s more, northern New Hampshire will be passing through the path of totality for this particular eclipse. If you see it in that part of the state, you will be seeing it at its maximum expression of total solar occultation by the moon. The communities in which the path of totality will be visible include Lancaster, Stark, Northumberland, Milan, Dummer, Errol, Dixville Notch and Pittsburg.
When Will New Hampshire and the United States Have Their Next Solar Eclipse?
We strongly recommend enjoying the 2024 solar eclipse if you’re in New Hampshire at the time. These events are quite uncommon for any specific part of the Earth’s surface, and New Hampshire is no exception. In the last 150 years, the state has only had two other total solar eclipses pass over its territory: one of these occurred in 1932 and the other in 1959. The next time a solar eclipse passes through New Hampshire won’t be until 2079.
