What to know about April's total solar eclipse
The moon will completely blot out the sun for millions of people in North America along a path crossing from Mexico into the United States and then Canada in a total solar eclipse occurring on April 8. - REUTERS
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00:00 On April 8, millions of people in North America will be in the path of a total solar eclipse.
00:07 Stretching from Mexico into the United States and Canada, the moon will completely blot
00:12 out the sun.
00:13 Here's what you need to know about it.
00:15 In a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between the sun and earth.
00:19 That covers the face of the sun along a small path of our planet's surface called the
00:23 path of totality.
00:25 The daytime sky turns dark as a result.
00:28 In places along the path of totality, people will be able to view the sun's corona, the
00:32 star's outer atmosphere, which is typically not visible because of solar brightness.
00:38 People observing from outside the path of totality will see a partial eclipse, but a
00:42 cloudy day could spoil the view.
00:46 According to NASA, the April 8 eclipse will begin over the South Pacific.
00:51 The path will reach Mexico's Pacific coast around 11.07 a.m. Pacific time before entering
00:57 the United States in Texas.
00:59 Its path then takes it through various states including Oklahoma, Illinois, Kentucky, New
01:04 York and Maine.
01:06 The path then enters Canada and Ontario and journeys through the eastern provinces.
01:11 It will exit on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland at 5.16 p.m. Newfoundland time.
01:16 A partial eclipse is due to be visible for people in all 48 contiguous U.S. states.
01:24 It is unsafe to look directly at the bright sun without using specialized eye protection.
01:30 Experts say viewing an eclipse through a camera lens, binoculars or telescope without making
01:35 use of a special purpose solar filter can cause severe eye injury.
01:39 They advise using safe solar viewing glasses or a safe handheld solar viewer.
01:44 And note that regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the sun.
01:48 The only moment it is considered safe for people to remove eye protection during a total
01:52 solar eclipse is the brief time when the moon completely blocks the sun's surface.
01:58 After this one, the next total solar eclipse viewable from the contiguous United States
02:03 will not occur until 2044.