The eclipse gave us something increasingly rare — shared experience  

The April 8 2024 eclipse has come and gone. It crossed the nation moving along a northeast path from Texas to Maine, touching 13 states including several major population centers like Dallas, Texas, Indianapolis, Ind., and Cleveland, Ohio. Even cities as far away as Seattle, Wash., got to see the moon partially covering the sun. 

People gathered to catch the celestial spectacle, with the next such event not expected in the U.S. for another 20 years (2044 and 2045, to be exact). Some areas got lucky, like San Antinio, Texas, enjoying both this eclipse as well as the 2023 eclipse, which took a southeast path from Oregon to Texas.  

NASA was center stage during the total eclipse. Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) were widely advertised as vehicles to understand eclipses, why they occur and the unique sizes and positions of the sun and the moon. If the size of the sun or moon, or their distances from the Earth were different, the phenomenon would be nonexistent, or less dramatic. 

It is an accident of nature that the size of the moon serendipitously matches the size of the sun in the earth’s sky, making for the potential of a dramatic total eclipse, casting darkness during daylight hours. Though total eclipses occur regularly on the Earth, they less commonly pass over highly populated areas. The 2024 eclipse was special in this regard, with around 32 million people doing nothing more than stepping outside their home and looking up at the sky (donning their ISO-approved solar-eclipse glasses, of course) to experience the marvel. 

Some communities transformed the eclipse into an economic development opportunity, attracting visitors seeking a four-minute glimpse of total darkness during the daylight hours. Drawing thousands of people together to watch an astronomical phenomenon represented a unique opportunity for people to find a common purpose, something to agree upon. 

Yet once the Earth and moon continued their celestial journey, and the eclipse ended, business as usual returned. People went back to their respective homes and lives, and the nation returned to its perfunctory affairs. 

There is no politics in the celestial skies. Eclipse viewers were Republican, Democrat, independent or unaffiliated. They were not arguing about who owns the eclipse, who deserves a better view, or who would pay for it. They were all enjoying the event in harmony and awe. 

Why does it take an eclipse to unify people? Perhaps because it takes people out of themselves and gives them something greater to focus their attention on. By focusing on the eclipse, rather than themselves, they temporarily experience a feeling of elation that overcomes any self-induced negativity and conflicts that permeate many people’s lives. 

The same phenomenon occurs with life threatening events. The nation experienced a public unity in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, when a spirit of helpfulness and kindness flooded our nation. Sadly, this event also fomented discrimination against Muslims and Arabs, which continues to this day. 

Using a science fiction storyline, if the Earth was threatened by a massive asteroid, every country would come together to work for a common solution. Conflicts like what we are seeing in Ukraine and Gaza would immediately cease, as a greater threat to lives and livelihoods would supersede the local disagreements fueling these conflicts.  

Republicans and Democrats in Congress would come together to support efforts to save the planet. Scientists from every country would work side by side to identify a path forward to protect the earth from a collision that could end civilization as we now know it. 

The message from such phenomena is that looking outwardly has the unexpected effect of centering ourselves. When we focus on events that unify, rather than circumstances that fracture, we are apt to gain a sense of well-being that improves our attitude and outlook. 

If a total eclipse passed over the war zone in Ukraine, could the Ukrainian and Russian fighters both come out to watch the marvel? If such an eclipse passed over Gaza, could the Israelis and Hamas come together to enjoy the spectacle?  

Admittedly, all such hopes are idealistic. Yet conflicts often grow out of getting something that we do not want, or not getting something that we do want. In such an environment, focusing on what we have may be the antidote to conflict, and the recipe for peace.  

If it takes an eclipse to facilitate such a transformation, so much the better. 

Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a professor in computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A data scientist, he applies his expertise in data-driven risk-based decision-making to evaluate and inform public policy.