On Monday April 8th, the moon will pass in front of the sun creating an eclipse. Viewers on a path from Texas to Maine will see a total eclipse while the rest of the country will see a partial version. Although solar eclipses occur every few years, fewer people see them when they occur over empty land or the ocean. The next North American eclipse won’t happen until 2033, over Alaska. So, it is not surprising that the 2024 eclipse has become a social phenomenon as well as a natural event.

Local weathercasters are conducting eclipse countdowns, universities are organizing viewing parties and media producers from podcasters to national news outlets are planning how to cover the event. In the Texas Hill country, where people will be able to see the total eclipse weather permitting, campsites and hotel rooms have been booked for months. Small-town administrators there are worried about traffic jams, parking, and porta-potty availability while individuals try to determine how best to view the eclipse in the midst of a busy Monday. The scientific/party atmosphere being created around this event is a logical outgrowth of our entertainment focused, technologically driven world.

This is certainly not the way such solar events were viewed in the past. In the absence of scientific data and media announcements, they often appeared to occur, literally, out of the blue. When the sky darkened and animals became quiet, our ancestors sometimes thought that supernatural powers were bringing the world to an end. In........

© Psychology Today