On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse traversed a wide swathe of North America stretching 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Mexico’s Pacific Coast through Texas and across 14 other US states into Canada. The period of totality, when the moon covered the face of the sun, lasted about four minutes depending on the location.
While throngs of people gazed skyward to see the celestial show, scientists were studying the
