During the April 8 total solar eclipse, shadow bands, thin, wavy lines of light and dark, were observed.
During the April 8 total solar eclipse, many observers noticed a mesmerizing phenomenon called shadow bands. These thin, wavy lines of alternating light and dark move and undulate parallel on plain-colored surfaces. NASA explains that these bands' intensity, motion, and direction seem to be related to the same spectacle that makes stars twinkle. In the upper atmosphere, turbulent cells of air act like lenses to focus and defocus the sharp-edged light from the solar surface just before totality. The movement of these atmospheric cells is random between each eclipse and each viewing location.
April 08, 2024
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