The solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 will bring some solar system worlds into view.
For those in the 115-mile-wide path of totality—where the moon completely blocks the sun for a few minutes or so—the sky (weather permitting) will darken to deep twilight. When that happens, millions of Americans will be able to see many planets.
Two people will be particularly radiant. You can’t miss them.
“Jupiter and Venus are going to pop out,” St. Lawrence University radio astronomer Aileen O’Donoghue told Mashable. Both objects will be brighter than the brightest in our night sky, O’Donoghue added. The star Sirius is brighter.
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“Jupiter and Venus will pop out.”
The path of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
Image source: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
Planets you can see during the 2024 solar eclipse
Venus
“Venus is going to be hot,” O’Donoghue stressed.
During a total solar eclipse, it will be below the Sun, about 15 degrees to the lower right. You can measure this distance with your fist held out at arm’s length. The extended fist is about 10 degrees.
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Venus is bright because it is relatively close to Earth and is covered in extremely thick, heat-trapping clouds. These clouds reflect most sunlight back into space.
Jupiter
The gas giant Jupiter will also be in the spotlight. “Jupiter will be very visible,” O’Donoghue explained.
The planet, eleven times as wide as Earth, will be located above and to the left of the eclipse sun, about 30 degrees (three fists) away.
other planets
While Jupiter and Venus will be the show’s planetary stars, you’re likely to see a few other planets as well. Both Saturn and Mars will appear near the southwest horizon. They will be very low, only about 10 degrees above the horizon. “They might jump out,” O’Donoghue said.
Time-lapse photography of the moon covering the sun during the August 2017 total solar eclipse.
Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
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Devil’s Comet
Comet 12/P Ponce-Brooks is on its way to the inner solar system and may be visible during a solar eclipse. But unlike the planet, you’ll need binoculars to see this smaller, fainter object. It will be to the right of Jupiter and may be visible if it explodes into dust and gas as it approaches the sun.
But remember, you can only view the sun (or near the sun) with regular binoculars if You are on the path to wholeness, and only When the moon completely blocks the sun. Mashable goes into more depth here about when to wear eclipse protective glasses.
Enjoy the view of the universe above.