Unless you decide to hide under your bed on Monday, April 8, when a total solar eclipse sweeps across Cleveland, you will witness an extraordinary, probably once-in-a-lifetime event like no other.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon (orbiting in between the earth and the sun) totally blocks our view of the sun and turns day into night.

Cleveland lies within the path of totality—promising nearly four minutes of darkness in the middle of the afternoon as the moon moves between the Earth and the sun. Cleveland won’t be in the path of totality again until the year 2444.

The astronomers Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) are eagerly awaiting this phenomenal event, and perhaps know better than most what a total eclipse means and its effects.

“There is something to be said about experiencing a celestial event like this with a big crowd,” says Nick Anderson, senior astronomer with CMNH. “It’s something to celebrate and it’s incredible to see all the different reactions. It impacts everyone differently, but it will have an impact on you,”

Monica Marshall, CMNH astronomerCMNH astronomer Monica Marshall agrees that reactions will vary among all of us. Marshall says she believes that seeing totality—complete coverage— “turns scientists into artists and artists into scientists.”

The eclipse will affect all of us—adults, children, some plants, and animals—in one way or another.

“It’s really odd and fascinating, [and[ you think, what am I going to feel,” says Marshall. “Some people feel inspired. Some people feel fear. Some are worried, others are confused.

“Personally, for me, it’s like going to sleep in the middle of the day, waking up when it’s dark, and thinking, ‘what happened?’ With the eclipse you see the whole environment change.”    

Marshall explains the sun as a “very powerful element that rises in the east and sets in the west, making a pattern.”

“The human psyche runs off patterns, too, and it is how we can predict what is going to happen and what we find comforting,” says Marshall, a graduate of Euclid High School and Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage. “It can be discomforting to us to see the sun be covered in the sky.”

However, we aren’t like ancient peoples—who thought a solar eclipse meant the sun was being eaten by a giant creature. Most of us have no problem with the short duration of total darkness.

The more we know about an eclipse, the more reasons we have to celebrate this unique event.

CMNH is at the forefront of helping Northeast Ohioans—and the many out-of-owners coming to Cleveland to be inline the path of totality—understand the rarity, science, and beauty of the event.

The museum is offering eclipse-themed educational exhibits, programs and celebrations. It is also partnering with University Circle Inc.’s Total on the Oval event on April 8, where one of those large, public crowds—the kind astronomer Anderson appreciates—will gather.

Anderson defines the path of totality Cleveland will experience  as “the moon’s dark, central, inky black shadow you have to be in to see the total eclipse of the sun.”  

The path is usually about 10,000 feet long and about 100 miles wide, but this one is about 115 miles wide, Anderson says. The eclipse will begin in Texas, move Northeast to Ohio, and eventually get to Maine before it heads to the Atlantic Ocean.   

“The closer you are to the center line of that path, the longer the duration of the eclipse will be,” he explains. “Moving toward the edge [of the path], you will experience a short duration. Some people look at a map showing the eclipse’s movement and think, ‘I am at 99% totality, so I should be fine.’”

But Anderson, who has a degree in astrophysics and planetarium studies and joined CMNH in 2017, says that’s a common misconception. “You won’t be,” he says.

“Some people compare the difference between seeing a partial eclipse and a total eclipse as being ‘dead versus undead” or “being pregnant or just a little pregnant.”

Timing and phenomena

The eclipse begins at 1:59 p.m. in Cleveland on April 8, with the totality occurring at 3:15 p.m., and ending at 4:29 p.m. The duration is two hours and 30 minutes, with totality lasting three minutes and 50 seconds.    

Eclipse viewers may have to make some choices about what to focus on right before, during, and after the event, because it’s all going to happen fast.

Most people will want to see the moment when our moon looks the same size as the sun (the sun is really 400 times larger) and completely covers it, plunging us into darkness.

Those few minutes are the only times it is safe to look directly at the eclipse without approved eyewear.  But there are also other phenomena worth noting.

Nick Anderson, CMNH senior astronomerShadow bands

Shadow bands are “mysterious little rippling shadows that slither across the ground just before and just after totality,” says to Anderson, who compares the gray bands to the rippling effects at the bottom of a swimming pool.

The cause of the bands is still somewhat elusive to scientists, but they may be traced to tiny bits of sunlight passing through the earth’s atmosphere. Anderson suggests placing a white or lightly colored sheet or tarp on the ground to catch a glimpse of the shadow bands.

Baily’s Beads

You can credit the re-appearance of sunlight (this time when it interacts with the moon’s hills and valleys) for Baily’s Beads—a sliver of light that appears like a string of beads appearing around the moon’s edge.

“For the final bead you get this great flash of light that is the start of totality,” explains Anderson. “It’s also a clue that you can remove your eclipse glasses just for that brief time.

Anderson compares the view just before the moon covers the sun completely to a diamond ring. “The sun’s corona (outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere) looks like the band of the ring, and the flash like a brilliant diamond,” he says. “Then the reverse occurs when totality is ending. When you see that second flash, you know you have to put your glasses back on.”     

Many marriage proposals—complete with a diamond ring—have been recorded across the globe during a total eclipse and after seeing Baily’s Beads, and some couples o choose to be married during an eclipse.   

Weather watch

People outdoors during a solar eclipse may experience a drop in temperature of five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit and winds may change direction several times.

Animals—whether living in the wild, in zoos, on farms, or in your home—may also react to the sudden darkness.

Studies have shown that songbirds become silent, frogs rev up their nighttime choruses and cows may head for shelter thinking it might storm. Orb-weaving spiders have been observed destroying their webs during totality, but re-build them once light returns.     

You might want to keep your dog inside or somehow attach a pair of eclipse glasses (good luck with that) if the dog is outdoors with you at a watch party or on your deck during the eclipse.

If your dog is the kind that will follow your gaze to the sky when you hear a helicopter or plane, then you might be concerned about eye damage. Yet, other dogs just think the darkness is another great opportunity to nap and looking down at their soft bed is far more fun.

Don’t forget plants. Some will fold or curl their leaves during the darkness, a routine they would normally do at night. An eclipse won’t hurt them.

Early discoveries

Anderson says it wasn’t until the 1700s that scientists began to more fully understand total solar totality, thanks to Sir Edmond Halley, an English astronomer and mathematician.

Cleveland Museum of Natural Histoy Planetarium“Early on, we were flabbergasted about an eclipse,” muses Anderson. “Now we can predict them. And now we can use them to make some pretty big discoveries.”

He encourages “citizen scientists” to observe and collect data (including temperature changes and animal behaviors) in conjunction with associations and institutions that welcome public collaborations. 

Marshall says she believes a total solar eclipse is a reminder to all of us that there “are bigger parts to the universe than just a little bitty person living on this planet.”

It keeps us humble, she says. Many ancient explanations and myths about eclipses had similar themes or lessons considered today—such as a symbol of rebirth, a bad omen, or plain terrifying.

On the right path

April’s eclipse is really a marvelous time to celebrate the beauty of the universe. But it may still be a little unsettling for some people.

According to The Farmers’ Almanac, more than 32 million people are living in the 2024 eclipse’s path of totality. That’s a huge increase from the 12 million people who were in the path of the 2017 eclipse.

Don’t forget, the next total eclipse that can be seen over the continental United States won’t happen until 2044. And it won’t be in our back yard.  

Marshall wants everyone to remember that no matter who we are, where or when we live, all of us on earth are looking at the same moon and sun.