{"id":24764,"date":"2024-03-11T08:17:12","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T12:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=24764"},"modified":"2024-03-20T06:35:35","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T10:35:35","slug":"us-total-solar-eclipse-incoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/us-total-solar-eclipse-incoming\/","title":{"rendered":"US: Total Solar Eclipse Incoming"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>On the afternoon of April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible across a large portion of Mexico, the US and Canada.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>If you\u2019re lucky enough to be flying, it may be a once-in-a-career type thing. The next one won\u2019t happen in the US again until 2044.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>There will be some impact on flight ops too. The FAA has published a list of airports on either side of the eclipse track, along with guidance on what flights in the area should expect on the day &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.faa.gov\/air_traffic\/publications\/domesticnotices\/dom24008_gen.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">check it here.<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>What\u2019s so special about this one?<\/h4>\n<p>It is \u2018total\u2019 \u2013 in other words, the moon will pass directly between the sun and earth completely blocking the face of the sun. The sky will darken as though it were night (or very close to it). The sun\u2019s outer atmosphere will become visible as a halo.<\/p>\n<p>This \u2018path of totality\u2019 as it were, will begin over the South Pacific before hitting Mexico\u2019s Pacific Coast at around 11:07 PDT.<\/p>\n<p>From there it will enter the US over Texas, and travel across Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_24783\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/svs.gsfc.nasa.gov\/5123\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24783\" class=\"wp-image-24783 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse_map_2024_QR_1920-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse_map_2024_QR_1920-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse_map_2024_QR_1920-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse_map_2024_QR_1920-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse_map_2024_QR_1920-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse_map_2024_QR_1920-1000x500.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse_map_2024_QR_1920-670x335.jpg 670w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse_map_2024_QR_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-24783\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click for high-res version.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Across the border it will then be visible in Canada over Southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton.<\/p>\n<p>The show will end east of Newfoundland at 17:16 NDT.<\/p>\n<p>In each instance complete totality will last for <strong>approximately 4 minutes<\/strong>. However, depending on your direction of flight, this may be longer in the air.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the exact timings NASA has published for each region:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-24773\" src=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Timings.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"872\" height=\"504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Timings.png 872w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Timings-300x173.png 300w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Timings-768x444.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Don\u2019t stare at the big shiny light!<\/h4>\n<p>It may go without saying, but <strong>be careful of your eyes<\/strong>. If the sun is anything but completely obscured, peering at it through a camera, telescope or your eyes will fry your corneas without appropriate protection. This will cause problems when it comes time to land again.<\/p>\n<p>Your trusty Ray Bans won\u2019t do it either \u2013 NASA says that sunglasses aren\u2019t enough. You\u2019ll either need to source yourself some funky eclipse glasses (which are thousands of times darker), a handheld solar viewer or use an \u2018indirect\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/eclipses\/safety\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">viewing method<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_24768\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24768\" class=\"size-large wp-image-24768\" src=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/glasses-1024x699.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/glasses-1024x699.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/glasses-300x205.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/glasses-768x525.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/glasses-1536x1049.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/glasses.jpeg 1546w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-24768\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">If you&#8217;re flying in the afternoon on April 8, pick yourself up a pair of these bad boys for your flight bag.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Sidenote \u2013 don\u2019t stare at it through a hole in a piece of cardboard either. No idea why, but this is what springs to mind to many. You&#8217;ll simply blind yourself through a very small hole. NASA have said no-bueno to that idea too.<\/p>\n<h4>Busy GA Traffic<\/h4>\n<p>Aside from a great view, an <strong>influx of traffic to GA-friendly airports<\/strong> is expected along the eclipse\u2019s path. It\u2019s a relatively narrow band of the most premium viewing (130nm wide) and so people will be travelling far and wide to get a good view.<\/p>\n<p>As such, expect <strong>ATC-related delays and parking restrictions<\/strong> at larger airports along its path. It\u2019d be worth checking ahead with your handling agent to ensure there will be no impact to your operation.<\/p>\n<p>The FAA has published a list of airports on either side of the eclipse track &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.faa.gov\/air_traffic\/publications\/domesticnotices\/dom24008_gen.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">check it here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re headed into un-towered fields in something fast and fancy be aware you are likely to encounter more traffic than usual. Some of it will be transient and potentially not as proficient at being seen and heard as commercial operators are.<\/p>\n<h4>Gram Famous<\/h4>\n<p>Chances are you\u2019ll want to take a picture of the eclipse with your smart phone. Here is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/how-to-photograph-a-solar-eclipse-with-a-smartphone\">handy article<\/a> with some tips to how to set up your camera and get the best results.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-24770\" src=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse-sky-1024x819.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"819\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse-sky-1024x819.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse-sky-300x240.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse-sky-768x614.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/eclipse-sky.jpeg 1118w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>Better yet, share them with us on <a href=\"mailto:team@ops.group\">team@ops.group<\/a>. We\u2019d love to see them and show the rest of the group.<\/p>\n<h4>More Info<\/h4>\n<p>NASA has everything else you need to know about the eclipse on their website <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/eclipses\/future-eclipses\/eclipse-2024\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points On the afternoon of April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":24786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2242,2243],"class_list":{"0":"post-24764","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-briefings","8":"tag-eclipse","9":"tag-nasa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24764"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24834,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24764\/revisions\/24834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}