Ohio has a front-row seat for the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. The moon will be between the earth and the sun, and the sun is completely blocked out from certain viewpoints.
Wayne Schlingman, director of the Arne Slettebak Planetarium at Ohio State, is a part of a statewide planning task force for the upcoming total solar eclipse.
Schlingman and the task force started planning for this eclipse in 2020, making Ohio a national leader for creating plans for local community watch parties and the traffic expected.
“There’s a chance for a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse every six months. It’s just when we get to see them that makes them rare,” Schlingman says.
It’ll start to feel cooler outside during the beginning, but the last 10% coverage is when everything starts to get dim and the sky starts to change as the shadow of the moon moves through the sky.
Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth, director and archivist at the Center for Folklore Studies at Ohio State, explores the relationship between people and their environments.
He refers to the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature to learn about eclipses through motifs passed on throughout history around the world, such as “Eclipse caused by a monster devouring sun or moon.”
It’ll take another 100 years for the total eclipse to be visible from Ohio, so make sure to get your certified eclipse shades and enjoy the show!