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Despite the fact that Mazatlán, Sinaloa emerged as one of the most popular destinations to observe the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, NASA selected Torreón, in Coahuila, as the city from which to officially broadcast this astronomical phenomenon. The total solar eclipse has become the primary attraction in the sky of this northern city, which today serves as the epicenter for expert gatherings. The advantageous position of Torreón prompted it to become NASA’s operations center, eagerly anticipating this historic event for several days.
The best point to view the Solar Eclipse
Officially, Torreón, Coahuila, is the best place to observe the eclipse. For a little over two years, the city has been preparing to record this natural phenomenon: “We began to robotize the observatories to be up to date and have the necessary capacity to make a transmission,” commented Eduardo Hernández, director of the Torreón planetarium, in an interview with Telemundo.
NASA considered many aspects when selecting the best point to witness the eclipse. One of the factors favoring Torreón was the minimal probability of clouds in the Laguna de Coahuila region, a location perfectly positioned to provide an excellent view of the eclipse. While Mazatlán is where the total eclipse will be seen first, Coahuila will have an additional 14 seconds of totality compared to other areas.
A few more seconds of eclipse
The total solar eclipse in Coahuila occurred at precisely 12:17, Mexico City time. Attendees enjoyed 4 minutes and 28 seconds of darkness, 14 seconds longer than what was observed in Mazatlán. This phenomenon is due to the moon’s closer proximity to Earth, resulting in a path width ranging between 108 and 122 miles across North America.