QUECHEE, Vermont – April is synonymous with one of the most prestigious and watched sporting events in the world, the Masters. But days before the 2024 Augusta edition begins, a much grander spectacle will occur – April 8th – the total solar eclipse.
When the moon passes the front of the sun it will stretch across Mexico, the United States and Canada. An estimated 43 million people reside in the path of totality, while 31 million in North America have the opportunity to step outside and witness the sun’s corona during this event and witness the moon passing the front of the sun.
This once in a lifetime celestial extravaganza is generating immense excitement and is quite the warmup for Masters week,” said Lynn Luczkowski, a longtime golf executive who has introduced “Moon Over Vermont“, an online resource and merchandise line, designed to create fun, educational and informative ways to embrace this celestial extravaganza.
“Totality is something you cannot truly grasp until you experience it for yourself. It’s that once in a lifetime moment when it’s you, the moon totally blocking the sun, the planets, and the stars,” Luczkowski shared. “When you witness totality, you see the blackest of black circles in the sky the size of the moon or sun. You will never see such an absence of light surrounded by the light of the stars, and, most spectacularly, the soft, wavy, moving streamers of the sun’s corona.”
Luczkowski witnessed her first total solar eclipse in Madras Oregon in August 2017 and was committed to generating excitement and encouraging people to experience in some capacity, the surreal moment she had with her family. “We took a seat on the hard packed ground in an open field and witnessed a few magical minutes and that’s when I gained a newfound appreciation for the magnitude of our great planet.”
For the first time since 1918 an eclipse path will stretch from Texas to Maine. And for the first time since 1932, Vermonters will be in the path of totality, enjoying a -front-row seat to this once-in-a-lifetime (or century) celestial event.
A partial solar eclipse begins April 8 at 2:14 p.m., and then at 3:26 p.m., a total eclipse will darken Vermont’s daytime sky, lasting approximately three minutes. The phenomenon will continue as a partial eclipse until 4:37 p.m. It will start in the Pacific and first reach land over Mexico around 11:07 a.m. local time. NASA predicts it will cross over into Texas and move across parts of the Midwest and Northeast in the afternoon. If you miss the 2024 spectacle, you’ll have to wait 20 years until the next one hits the U.S. But that total eclipse will only be visible in Montana and the Dakotas.
Some projections say Vermont could experience more than 200,000 visitors for the Eclipse and tourism experts have already reported high demand for hotel and guest accomodations for early April.
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