Since West Plains, Missouri, is in the path of totality for the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse, it presents an opportunity for something that should be on everyone’s bucket list. It might not seem that noteworthy – I sometimes hear people say, ‘surely it’s not that big of a deal’ – but it truly is, in fact, a huge deal. Let me convince you to be in totality, and make sure your friends and family members are, too!
First, there is no “partial totality.” You can witness a partial eclipse or be in the path of totality where the sun is 100% blocked from view by the moon. The difference is vast. A total solar eclipse (TSE) is the gold standard of astronomical occurrences, but there can misunderstanding about the significance. I’ve had local folks tell me they’ve seen a TSE. When I ask where they travelled to be in it, they often say, “I saw one here when I was a kid,” or “I was here for the one in 2017.” Nope, I’m sorry to say. The last TSE for West Plains was in 1869. The 2017 eclipse was only partial here.
As cool as partial eclipses are, they do not compare to totality. An article in Scientific American in 2017 explained it well. The scientist who wrote it says talking about percentages and eclipses can give a false impression. If 100% is good, then 99% is just about as good, right? No, not all. He notes that when the moon covers the sun for that last 1%, the sky gets 10,000 times darker – 10,000 times!
My firsthand knowledge of how special totality is because in 2017 I was in northern Missouri with my husband, daughter, son-in-law and grandsons so we could be part of the TSE which occurred on August 21 of that year. We planned our family vacation around the eclipse, and it was absolutely worth it. There are people who chase eclipses literally all over the world. After my experience, I realized if I had the resources, I would chase eclipses, too.
So. What IS the big deal?
I’ll start by saying my family and I gasped involuntarily when the moon moved into complete coverage. And even though we had explained to my youngest grandson, who was five at the time, what would be happening, he started to cry out of concern when the sun disappeared. We reassured him, and he quickly moved on to amazement with the rest of us. We were all teary-eyed from the joy of it.
I was not prepared for how stunning and unsettling it would be. It’s weird to realize that for the duration of totality, you can take off your solar glasses and look directly at the sun. It’s the only time it’s ever safe to stare directly at the star of our solar system, but that’s because you don’t actually see the sun. What you see is a black hole in the sky where the sun should be shining, and around it is the spiky yet ‘flowy’ corona of the sun’s atmosphere. Its “jacket of gases” as NASA less poetically calls it.
Then there’s the darkness. While it’s not like the middle of night – the sun is, after all, still lurking in the sky – there is a sharp suddenness of late twilight. Stars become visible. There’s the unusual effect of a ‘365-degree sunset,’ a glowing brightness all around the horizon, but with nighttime overhead. An eerie stillness overtakes you as your surroundings get calm and quiet. Animals and birds react as if sleep and roost time is settling in. The temperature drops. Landscape colors transform.
When I’m trying to verbalize to others what the experience meant to me, my words often fail. Think of explaining the most beautiful sunrise which has ever broken the morning sky. If you’ve ever seen a huge meteor streak across the night, try to recall what it’s like to convey what you saw. The crashing waves of the ocean. The deep presence of an old forest. Descriptions are inadequate for some things. And so it is with a total eclipse. You need to be there. You REALLY need to be there.
It only lasted about a minute where we were in 2017, and I only have one picture I took of my surroundings during totality (shown in this post). I recommend not trying to take photos of the eclipsed sun. Professional photographers will do that, and they will share. You’ll waste time trying to get it right and risk missing the main event. If you do take photos, concentrate on getting a couple of your surroundings and of family and friends. But be quick about it, so you can be present in the moment. You want to experience the fullness of it, and you only need a couple of photos to help remind you of how you felt. We’ll have about three minutes of totality in West Plains which is going to be awesome.
I don’t know that I would have travelled in 2017 to see totality, because I was probably thinking like others do, ‘surely it can’t be that big of a deal.’ But my son-in-law insisted, “We’re all going.” I’m glad we listened. Make sure YOUR friends and family listen, too! Don’t let them settle for anything less than totality.
After April 8, 2024, the next total solar eclipse to be visible in the lower 48 states will be in 2045, and it will barely catch a tiny corner of Missouri. I’ll be 84 years old, and I plan to be around to travel to totality. Because the next one visible in West Plains is not until 2178, and I’m not supposing I’ll be here for that one. I doubt any of you will be, either, so I implore you not to squander this opportunity.
As briefly as I can say it, that’s it. That’s why April 8, 2024, really is going to be a big deal. I suggest you put ‘experiencing totality’ on your bucket list and prepare to cross it off right here in West Plains. I can’t wait!
Written by West Plains resident Terry Hampton, Tourism Assistant, City of West Plains.