In a stunning and urgent discovery, astronomers at the University of Vermont have determined that a consortium of global space agencies made a fundamental error in their calculation of the path of the upcoming solar eclipse. By failing to account for the time it takes light to travel from the sun, a laser-based model led by the U.S. National Observatory’s Measurement Alignment and Astronomy Ministration, has been shown to be off by seven days and 1,843 miles.
By recalculating the path, the ̽̽ team shows that the shadow of the moon will pass over North America on April 1, not April 8 as previously calculated.
And, instead of traveling from Texas over Vermont, the “path of totality” will travel north until it reaches New Hampshire and curves over the North Pole. “We were amazed and wanted the public and planners to know as soon as possible,” said John Perry, Director of . Eclipse watchers should head outside at 12:37pm in the Florida Keys, with darkness arriving in New York City at 2:17pm. The shadow will cross the at 3:56pm.
“We stand corrected,” said NO-MA'AM’s visualization scientist, Maey B. Wrongge. “Our maps rely on the JPL DE421 ephemeris—but we forgot a basic fact: light must travel 92.5 million miles to get to Earth, rendering our measurements flawed.”
The ̽̽ scientists note that “some dimness” should be visible for 700 miles from the remapped path of totality. “If it remains clear, Vermonters will still be able to see the shadow racing across the White Mountains in New Hampshire,” said Bernard “Chip” Cole, Director of ̽̽’s NASA-supported Vermont Space Grant Consortium.
“Burlington saw its last total eclipse in 1932,” Space Grant Administrator Ellen Brennan said. “It’s beyond belief that we’re going to miss this once-in-a-century event in Vermont because of what amounts to an error of arithmetic." ̽̽’s planning team has reached out to the University of New Hampshire to share eclipse glasses. “We’re disappointed,” said ̽̽ spokesperson Adam White, “but so proud of our team for uncovering this error.”
Sarah Phillips ‘25 made the discovery. “The guys and me had just finished a round of Tetris and were messing with the NASA/JPL retroreflector toggle when it hit me that the light speed adjustment wasn’t even in there. That’s when the pieces fell into place,” she said. By morning, the lab had confirmed her hunch: the eclipse was miles off course. “And it’s coming at us, like, now,” Phillips said. For weeks, ̽̽ instructor Luke Donforth has been planning to bring introductory physics students out to view the eclipse. “It makes me cry that we won’t be able to see it, but we’ll still be on the Green staring at the sun—with our eclipse glasses on, of course” he said.
More information on the recalculated eclipse path can be found here.
“Since 1791, ̽̽ has had a deep commitment to caring for people and planet and solar system,” said President Suresh Garimella, “and I could not be more proud that our researchers and students made this discovery just in time for April Fool’s Day.”