Will the rare April 8 solar eclipse last for 3-5 days?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Rare April 8 Solar Eclipse Will Last For 3-5 Days!
People are sharing a TikTok video which claims that the rare solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, will cause total darkness for 3-5 days! Here is a transcript of the viral video:
April 8, 2024
3 days of darkness will occur when the earth passes through the photon belt. This is as the earth enters and passes through this belt. There will be no sunlight nor moonlight on the earth’s surface.
Photons are electromagnetic particles that travel at the speed of light and will act as a barrier or temporary shield around the earth preventing the light of the sun or the stars from passing through it.
This is expected to last 72 hours or 5 days. There are no breaks or periods of light during the three days, only darkness.
Recommendations. Stock up on food, water, candles, other essential items. All sunlight will be blocked, and solar panels will not generate energy. Stay at home and avoid travelling for safety reasons.
The sunlight will return on the Earth, marking the beginning of the golden age.
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Truth : Rare April 8 Solar Eclipse Will Last For 7.5 Minutes!
This appears to be yet another example of fake news circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : April 8 Solar Eclipse Will Only Last 7.5 Minutes
Let me start by simply pointing out that the April 8 solar eclipse will not last 3 days as claimed by the viral video. It will only last 7.5 minutes.
Even though it’s only 7.5 minutes long, that is actually an incredibly long period of total darkness, and a very rare event. The last one happening in 1973, and next one will not happen again until 2150.
Fact #2 : April 8 Solar Eclipse Mainly Affects North America
The April 8 solar eclipse does not encompass the entire globe, but mostly North America – covering Canada, United States, and Canada. Hence, some of the media are calling it the Great American Eclipse.
Even then, only a tiny strip of North America will be covered by path of the total solar eclipse. The rest of North America will be covered by varying degrees of darkness, as shown by the map below.
There will be a partial solar eclipse of some parts of Europe, Central America, South America, and Oceania. But the rest of the world is not affected by the April 8 solar eclipse.
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Fact #3 : Photon Belt Does Not Exist
The Photon belt does not exist. It is a pseudoscientific myth based on the belief that Earth will soon pass through an immense ring of photos orbiting the Pleiades star cluster, or more specifically – its largest star, Alcyone. Hence, its alternate name – The Rings of Alcyone.
As the myth goes, after Earth passes through this photon belt, the world will end, or humanity will be elevated to a higher plane of existence. This idea was first described in 1950 by German scientist Paul Otto Hesse. However, it has never been shown to be remotely plausible, never mind actually proven.
In any case, the Pleiades cluster is over 400 light years away, so it is impossible for any photon belt surrounding it to affect Earth. In addition, the Pleiades cluster currently moving away from Earth.
Fact #4 : Photons Cannot Block Photons
Now, I’m no physicist, but as far as I know, photons cannot block other photons. So it would be impossible for a photon belt (if one did exist) to block sunlight and starlight from reaching Earth.
Photons are massless particles of electromagnetic energy. Visible light, for example, generates photons, and as you can tell, light does not get cancelled if two people shine a torchlight at each other!
Similarly, heat (thermal energy) also produces photons through thermal radiation and light. But as you well know – placing two lit candles next to each other won’t block the amount of light or heat each candle produces!
In short – even if Earth passes through a band of photons, sunlight and starlight will continue to shine on us.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
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