Morgan Kirsch
Benedict Lu stares at the eclipse through his glasses on Monday, April 8, 2024, in the quad. The peak for the eclipse in Chicago hit at 2:07 p.m.
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People all over the United States gathered April 8 to witness the total solar eclipse, across the United States from Texas to Maine.
“(The eclipse) It’s a special alignment between the sun, the moon and our earth all lined up in a row,” said Laura Trouille, Vice President for Science Engagement at Adler Planetarium. “What’s happening is just the moon is blocking all of the sun’s light and it is casting a shadow onto the earth’s surface.”
In Chicago, people came together outside across the city, including at Adler Planetarium. Eclipse viewers in the city saw 93.9% coverage of the sun, peaking at 2:07 p.m. CST. In Terre Haute, Indiana, the sun was 100% covered, also known as “totality.” The eclipse peaked at 3:04 p.m. ET.
“For an astronomer, the eclipse is like the Super Bowl,” Laura Trouille, vice president for scientific engagement at Adler Planetarium, said.
The next total solar eclipse of this scale in the continental United States will be Aug. 12, 2044; Stretching from California to Florida.