Camp Hill, PA – It has been over 150 years since Pennsylvania witnessed a total eclipse of the Sun. It won’t happen again until 2079.
On Monday, April 8, Pennsylvania witnessed the afternoon sky blackout as the Moon fully crossed between the Sun and the Earth. Total solar eclipses can only be seen along a narrow strip across the planet’s surface, making this a sensationally rare event that has increased tourism in the Commonwealth. Totality – the phenomenon where the Moon covers 100% of the face of the Sun – was visible in Erie but the eclipse itself could still be seen and enjoyed across the state.
Although the total eclipse of the Sun lasted merely five minutes, the eclipse itself occurred over a span of five distinct phases: The Moon’s edge touched the edge of the Sun in a phase called first contact. Then, the Moon’s edge covered all of the Sun in a phase called second contact. Two minutes after second contact, the Sun was at its most hidden point, achieving maximum eclipse. Totality ended two minutes after this when the Moon’s edge began to expose the Sun as the third contact phase, and the eclipse officially concluded after the Moon’s edge left the Sun’s edge as the fourth and final contact.
Before now, the last time Pennsylvania saw an eclipse (although not in totality) was about 30 years ago in May 1994. The Moon had blocked 94% of the Sun’s light, displaying a large ring of fire in the sky. According to NASA, however, stars and planets were visible during the April 8th eclipse, along with the Sun’s outer atmosphere known as the corona and a 360-degree sunset.