Solar eclipse path may have shrunk; how it impacts you
If you plan to see the eclipse on April 8 from your backyard, you may now need to adjust plans. A new report published this week on eclipse blog Besselian Elements shows the path may have moved north in some areas and become more narrow.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- If you plan to see the eclipse on April 8 from your backyard, you may now need to adjust plans. A new report published this week on eclipse blog Besselian Elements shows the path may have moved north in some areas and become more narrow.
First reported by Forbes.com, the team of amateur astronomers came to their conclusion after making adjustments that account for the topography of the Moon and Earth's surface. The lack of exact measurements of the Sun's diameter were also to blame for the changing path.
According to the group's Facebook page, they are "amateur astronomers passionate about solar eclipses." The primarily focus on measuring the sun's diameter.
So how does this impact us? Only areas on the edge of the new map will see a change in the path, in some areas by just a few feet. In some parts of the country, entire towns will no longer see the eclipse.
It is important to note that you're only able to see the total eclipse if you are within 100% of the eclipse's path of totality. If you are outside the path by just a little, you WILL NOT see the eclipse.
Which towns could be impacted by the new eclipse path?
In Texas, several areas will not see the eclipse if the new calculations are correct.
These Texas towns are no longer in the eclipse's path according to the new map:
- Comanche
- Eagle Mountain
- Elizabethtown
- Krugerville
- Dorchester
Towns along the southern edge of the eclipse path in Texas are still in the path, but will need to move less than a mile north of where they may have originally planned.
Currently, no professional space organization has published a similar map, nor has NASA.
This is a developing story. We will provide more information as it becomes available.