Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 31

St. John's
ity
Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, cloud cover along the
central line is relatively constant, hanging around 55% to
60%, with one exception.
Beyond Little Rock, Arkansas, the eastern edge of the
shadow moves over the lowlands of the Mississippi Alluvial
Plain while the western side rests on the higher terrain of the
Boston Mountains and the Ozark Plateau - a difference in
elevation of nearly 600 m. The floodplain of the Mississippi
is a reservoir of moisture that can hide under heavy layers of
stratus and stratocumulus, pushing the cloud-cover statistics
upward by about 15% from Little Rock to Cape Girardeau,
Missouri. The high ground on the western side of the track is
not particularly sunny either, so eclipse planners should probably
opt for the central line and avoid sites from Jonesboro,
Arkansas, to Kennett, Missouri, and onward to the confluence
of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, Illinois.
Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York,
and into Canada
The trajectory of the Moon's shadow through Ohio takes it
across Toledo, Cleveland, and Akron. Three other Buckeye
State cities, Cincinnati (99.4%), Columbus (99.6%), and
Youngstown (99.7%), are near misses.
The southeastern corner of Michigan barely makes it into
the eclipse path with a triangular wedge of land bordered by
Ohio and Lake Erie. Unfortunately, nearby Detroit misses
FOLLOW THE MOON'S SHADOW Eclipse chasers have a lot of
geography to choose from as the Moon's shadow races across Mexico,
the U.S., and through eastern Canada. While the eclipse central line may
pass close to home for many observers, weather prospects along the
path of totality vary widely, with regions in Mexico and Texas being the
most favorable. The percentage lines refer to eclipse obscuration, which
is the fraction of the Sun's area covered by the Moon.
out but gets a deep partial eclipse of 99.1%. The central line
crosses Lake Erie and clips the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania.
The largest Keystone State city in the path is Erie,
where totality lasts 3m 42s.
Meanwhile, the northern edge of the path crosses the
border into Ontario, Canada. The city of Hamilton stands 10
km inside the northern limit and receives 1m 43s of totality.
Deeper in the path, St. Catharines residents get 3m 16s of
total eclipse. Unfortunately, Ontario's capital city, Toronto,
lies 9 km outside the path, thereby missing totality with a
99.7% partial at 19:20 UT (15:20 EDT).
Buffalo, New York, is on the central line, bringing it 3m 45s
of totality. The path here is 179 km wide, and the Sun's altitude
is 46°. About 32 km north of Buffalo is world-renowned
Niagara Falls, where totality lasts 3m 31s. Rochester stands
on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, where eclipse watchers
will experience 3m 39s of totality. Downtown Syracuse
is within 7.5 km of the southern limit but still gets a total
eclipse lasting 1m 25s. In Canada, the path now runs across
sk yand tele scope .o r g * APRIL 2023 31
Bathurst
Presque Isle
Houlton
Fredericton
Boston
60%
Buchans
Gander
Path of Total Eclipse
Northern limits of total
Southern limits of totality
50%
Ottawa
Belleville
Brockville
Toronto
Hamilton
Kingston
Rochester
Niagara
Falls
Erie
Cleveland
Youngstown
Canton
Pittsburgh
Washington, D.C.
Buffalo
Jamestown
Raleigh
kee
Detroit
Toledo
Bowling Green
omo
napolis
Richmond
Marion
mington
Muncie
Akron
Lima
Mansfield
Springfield
Dayton
Cincinnati
ta
Québec
Drummondville
Montréal
Cornwall
Plattsburgh
Watertown
Syracuse
Saint-Georges
Victoriaville
Sherbrooke
Burlington
Montpelier
New York
Philadelphia
Norfolk
Stephenville
Moncton
Charlottetown
Halifax
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Sky & Telescope - April 2023

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