Totality Recall: The Solar Eclipse is a Once in a Lifetime Event for Arkansans

If you are an Arkansan, you've likely heard the word "totality" far more often than usual – and for good reason. Thanks to the fortunate alignment of celestial coincidences, a hearty portion of the Natural State will bear witness to a solar eclipse of near 100% totality – when the moon completely and perfectly obscures the sun. Arkansas happens to fall in the path of this exceedingly rare event. The last time such a totality event occurred in Arkansas was 1918.

"And that was for a far shorter duration," said Dr. Hugh Churchill, ARA Academy Member and professor of physics at the University of Arkansas. "Monday's eclipse will afford us more than four minutes of totality."

Indeed, the 1918 event offered only one minute and twelve seconds of moon-induced darkness. On Monday, April 8th, eclipse enthusiasts will be treated to four minutes and 15 seconds of totality.

"Compare Monday's eclipse with the last solar eclipse Arkansas witnessed in 2017," said Dr. Churchill. "On that day, Little Rock observed only 89% totality. Monday we'll see 100% totality in Little Rock. The difference between the two will be night and day." Little Rock will see totality at 1:52 p.m.

Unfortunately, not all of Arkansas will be beneath the totality umbrella. "Fayeteville is not in totality's path," said Dr. Churchill. "So we're taking a family trip to Hector to get the full experience."

Yes, some communities in Arkansas will offer better viewing opportunities than others, including Little Rock, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, and Mena. Arkansas' next chance to view a solar eclipse event as remotely momentous falls in 2045. Why are these events so rare?

"The earth orbit arounds the sun, the moon orbits around the earth, and that happens at different rates," explained Dr. Churchill. "It takes an act of cosmic coincidence to line these celestial bodies in a perfect sequence – and it's rarer yet that this sequence is observable in Arkansas."

Though rare, does an eclipse of this note signal something of far greater impact – such as the end of the world?

Dr. Churchill chuckled. "In the scheme of things, eclipses happen all the time. We should be fine."

Hugh Churchill is a native Arkansan and received a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University. Before joining the University of Arkansas in 2015, he held a Pappalardo Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  At UA, the Churchill Lab combines expertise in nanofabrication with quantum transport and optoelectronic characterization to investigate the electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of atomically thin 1D and 2D semiconductor quantum devices.