Millions of Americans will be able to observe a total eclipse on Monday, a rare phenomenon that will attract many tourists along a diagonal crossing the United States from south to northeast.
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In Burlington, in the northeastern state of Vermont, the Sun will be completely obscured just before 3:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. GMT) on April 8.
Many hotels have been full for months. And prices for the few remaining rooms, usually around $150 a night, rise to between $600 and $700 on the day of the most important astronomical event of the year.
“I don’t know if we’ll have something like this again,” Jeff Lawson, vice-president of the local chamber of commerce, told AFP.
According to him, it is an “incredible chance” which “literally fell from the sky” for the town of 40,000 inhabitants.
Unless the weather spoils the party, the event should allow Burlington to see its population double for the day, with visitors coming by car, train and even private jet, assures Jeff Lawson.
About 32 million people live in the path of total darkness, where the total eclipse will be visible, according to NASA.
Economical consequences
Preparations for the big day began years ago, Matt Bruning, of the Department of Transportation in Ohio, another northeastern state bordering Canada, told AFP.
Since the last major eclipse in the United States, in 2017, “one of the things we’ve heard a lot is that it’s never too early to start preparing,” he continues. Despite this, he warns, there will be inevitable “delays and traffic jams”.
In Cleveland, a city in Ohio, local authorities expect some 200,000 visitors, including four days of concerts during a “solar festival” or “Solarfest”.
The direct and indirect economic fallout from this year’s eclipse could reach six billion dollars, estimates the economic analysis firm Perryman Group.
This year, the path of the total eclipse is about 185 kilometers wide, wider than in 2017. Its passage will begin in western Mexico and cross the United States before ending in eastern Canada .
For the occasion, many schools located along this trajectory will be closed or will allow students to leave early, from Cleveland in the United States to Montreal in Canada.
Several airlines have announced special flights for the eclipse, including the American Delta which will even pass along the path of darkness. The first of these flights became full within 24 hours, according to the company.
“Completely different experience”
In the rest of the United States, residents will be able to see at least a partial eclipse.
But astronomer Jean-Luc Margot, like others, wants to make the trip to see the total eclipse.
“A partial eclipse, even at 99%, is a completely different experience than being in the path of total darkness,” he explains to AFP.
When people finally see the eclipse, they are “often moved,” says the Belgian astronomer, who now teaches in Los Angeles and will travel to Texas, in the south of the country, for the occasion.
“It is an event of such beauty, due to a total cosmic concordance,” he continues.
The Sun is in fact around 400 times larger than the Moon, but is also 400 times further away. This is why the two stars appear of a similar size from Earth.
Scientists traditionally use eclipses to observe and better understand the solar corona, the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere.
The total eclipse will also be scrutinized for other reasons, with scientists planning to study in particular the effects of the phenomenon on the Earth’s atmosphere or on the behavior of animals.
“Eclipses have a special power,” Bill Nelson, the head of NASA, recently said. “They touch people, who feel a kind of reverence for the beauty of our Universe.”
