Take a look at NASA's 2024 solar eclipse map to see path of event : New solar eclipse map shows path of totality could shift that could leave some US towns without views of the celestial event
- 11 days ago
The solar eclipse's path of totality could shift on Monday - and now experts are urging people to travel to different spots to see the celestial event.
Amateur astronomer John Irwin released a new map of the 115-mile path from Maine through Texas which has revealed its changed by roughly 2,000 feet.
The updated calculation has suggested that people in places like Rome, New York, Effingham, Illinois, and some areas of Fort Worth, Texas will no longer be able to have a perfect view of the eclipse.
Roughly 34 million people are expected to view the eclipse, but hundreds of thousands of viewers will now be left outside the immediate path and unable to watch the event.
As people prepare to travel to watch the solar eclipse, Irwin's report has suggested that the path of totality, which has been projected for months, might be slightly off.
Irwin is part of a team analyzing the solar eclipse event for the Besselian Elements, and according to the website, they reported that the adjustment accounts for 'topographic elevation both around the limb of the moon and on the surface of the Earth.'
Topographic elevation is the adjustment of how close the Earth is to the sun, accounting for mountainous regions that would slightly alter where the path of totality will be.
'By accounting for the topography of both the moon and the Earth, precise eclipse prediction has brought new attention to a tiny but real uncertainty about the size of the sun,' a NASA spokesperson told Dailymail.com.
It added that uncertainty over the Earth's rotation could also affect the predictions for the path the eclipse will take.
Amateur astronomer John Irwin released a new map of the 115-mile path from Maine through Texas which has revealed its changed by roughly 2,000 feet.
The updated calculation has suggested that people in places like Rome, New York, Effingham, Illinois, and some areas of Fort Worth, Texas will no longer be able to have a perfect view of the eclipse.
Roughly 34 million people are expected to view the eclipse, but hundreds of thousands of viewers will now be left outside the immediate path and unable to watch the event.
As people prepare to travel to watch the solar eclipse, Irwin's report has suggested that the path of totality, which has been projected for months, might be slightly off.
Irwin is part of a team analyzing the solar eclipse event for the Besselian Elements, and according to the website, they reported that the adjustment accounts for 'topographic elevation both around the limb of the moon and on the surface of the Earth.'
Topographic elevation is the adjustment of how close the Earth is to the sun, accounting for mountainous regions that would slightly alter where the path of totality will be.
'By accounting for the topography of both the moon and the Earth, precise eclipse prediction has brought new attention to a tiny but real uncertainty about the size of the sun,' a NASA spokesperson told Dailymail.com.
It added that uncertainty over the Earth's rotation could also affect the predictions for the path the eclipse will take.