Bill Nye hopes to attract even more excitement for the upcoming 2024 total solar eclipse, which is taking place on Monday, Apr. 8.
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The famed scientist and television presenter spoke to Texas Standard about what everyone in the totality path should expect during the historic event.
“If you’ve not seen a total solar eclipse, I can’t say enough good things,” Bill Nye stated. “‘Well, what if I see the partial eclipse? What if I decide I’ll just stay in Tulsa or Brownsville or something?’”
“Take your time, take the day, whatever it is, and drive an hour, an hour and a half, and get under the path of totality. Because it is amazing.”
Also speaking about the Ring of Fire, which crossed over a large majority of Texas, Nye shared, “The ring of fire was the annular eclipse; annulus means ‘ring’ in Latin. So, that was because you had a ring around the moon, a very bright sunlight because the moon’s orbit isn’t quite round; it’s elliptical.”
In regards to how everyone in the totality path should react to this year’s solar eclipse, Bill Nye says they should live in the moment. That includes not taking any selfies during the event.
“I know you all want to take pictures,” Nye said. “But just try to be in the moment. Just be there, remember the moment, remember what you were doing on April 8th about 1:30 in the afternoon in Hill County of Texas. It’s just an extraordinary experience.”
Bill Nye Reveals No Other Planet Has the Same Type of Solar Eclipse Like Earth Does
While continuing to speak about the solar eclipse, Bill Nye further pointed out that no one knows of any other planets in the solar system or in the cosmos where the moon blocks the same width of sky as the sun.
“Most places that we can tell, all the moons are much smaller,” Bill Nye explained. “They don’t block the sun out this way.”
“So Earth is amazing in that way. So what’ll happen? You guys have heard the story. The birds will chirp, the crickets will tweet – or they’ll crick, whatever they do.”
Bill Nye declared that it is an exciting time and the next solar eclipse will not be happening until 2044. “So I hope to be around for that one,” he said. “I’m of a certain age, who knows?”
He then added that while total solar eclipses happen all the time, every year and a half or so, the 2024 event is huge for those in the totality path. “What makes this one important is it’s happening over a place where we live.”