The Daily Bulletin

Last week’s Totality Tuesday discussed the shadow of the Moon and noted that the Moon’s shadow travels along what is called the path of totality. During the April 8 total solar eclipse, the path starts in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Mexico, passes up through Mexico, enters the U.S. in Texas, continues to the northeast, and passes over parts of Canada and the northern parts of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.

You must be in the path of totality to see a total solar eclipse, and Buffalo and the Western New York region will be within the path on April 8. If you are outside the path of totality, you can see a partial solar eclipse. That’s what we experienced here in Buffalo in 2017, when a total solar eclipse passed across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. From our view, we saw a maximum of about 75 percent of the Sun covered by the Moon. On April 8, Buffalo is one of the few major cities along the center of the path of totality. Places like Buffalo that are along or close to the center of the path of totality, or the center line, will experience a longer and darker totality.

The width of the path of totality depends on the geometry of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, and it varies as the Moon’s shadow passes across Earth’s surface. In our region, the path will be about 110 miles wide. You might have heard that we could see up to a million visitors coming to Western New York for the eclipse. In this area, much of the path of totality is taken up by Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. As a colleague from the Buffalo Astronomical Association recently noted, that means visitors to the region will be packed into a smaller area compared to other areas along the path!

This will be an exciting event for Buffalo, Western New York, and many parts of North America. What do we expect to experience during the eclipse? That’s next week’s topic.

Question of the Week: When was the last time Buffalo was in the path of totality?

Answer: Buffalo last experienced a total solar eclipse almost 100 years ago in 1925. After April 8, the next time the path of totality crosses our region will be more than 100 years in the future: 2144!

For information about Buffalo State’s eclipse events, visit the Buffalo State Eclipse website. Questions? Email eclipse@buffalostate.edu.