Millions expected to observe total solar eclipse in North America

2024-04-08 11:01:00

This Monday, April 8, on the North American continent, the Sun will be replaced by the Moon at midday. The partial eclipse will be visible almost everywhere on the continent, but it will be total on a path from Mazatlán to Mexico, passing through fifteen states of the United States from Texas to Maine, to finish its course in Newfoundland in Canada .

Published on: 04/08/2024 – 1:01 p.m. Modified on: 04/08/2024 – 1:05 p.m.

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There is a rush among car rental companies, enthusiasts have flown from all over the world just to see this eclipse. The madness has also taken hold among Texans who are preparing to hit the road to reach the corridor where the eclipse will be total: from Eagle Pass to the border, to Sant Antonio, Waco or Dallas explains our correspondent in Houston, Thomas Harms. And the children, like Wesley, 5 years old, are already excited by the experience: “ This is so cool ! An eclipse is when the Sun hides behind the Moon. » For four minutes, the sun will be replaced by a simple luminous circle around the moon, generating night in broad daylight.

Among the million people expected, scientists also made the trip. This is the case of Bill Nye, a science popularizer – he also presented a science show for children in the 90s – who would not have missed this total eclipse in Texas for anything. “ What’s going to happen ? The birds will stop chirping and go back to sleep, the crickets will sing, because night has fallen, details Bill Nye. Take off your eclipse glasses, look around, listen to the sounds, and there will be a breeze because the ground is cooling so quickly that you will feel this coolness just for those four minutes, it’s amazing. »

Enough, for a moment, to think like the ancients that it is the end of the world or like the Apache or Navajo tribes, to imagine that it is a dangerous fight between cosmic forces that is taking place. This Monday, many descendants of native tribes will instead stay at home.

State of emergency declared at Niagara Falls

Le magazines National Geographic has also identified Niagara Falls as one of the best places to observe this extremely rare phenomenon, specifies our correspondent in Quebec, Pascale Guéricolas. This tourist site on the border of Canada and the United States is in fact right in the middle of the area where the entire eclipse can be observed.

And Niagara Falls, a place famous for its honeymoons, has never seen such crowds. The many hotels in this small, very touristy town have been sold out for months, and the few rooms still available are sold for ten times the normal rate. To the point that the mayor took an exceptional decision since he declared a state of emergency, a measure generally reserved for floods and forest fires.

This state of emergency allows authorities to have increased power to prevent problems linked to this massive influx of visitors. Reinforcements of police officers are already on site to manage traffic jams, while ambulances and fire trucks are stationed at strategic locations in the city. It will indeed be very difficult for them to move around when motorists invade the streets. The three and a half minute eclipse could disappoint fans, however, since clouds are forecast for Monday over Niagara Falls.

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