Monday’s total eclipse

Parts of the United States will experience a total solar eclipse on Monday. That means the moon will be between the sun and the Earth for a brief period. It’s a rare event that won’t be visible again in the U.S. until 2044.

Much less rare is inconsistent capitalization for the entities involved in this phenomenon. You often see “sun” and “moon” capitalized, even though they don’t need to be.

But what about Earth? That’s a different story.

Longtime subscribers might remember that we covered that one last year ahead of Earth Day. You should capitalize “Earth” when you’re referring to the planet, which is why you see us capitalizing it in references to the solar eclipse. But you don’t capitalize it in common phrases, such as, “Why on earth would I do that?”

Where on Earth do you plan to be for the solar eclipse? Hit reply and let us know.

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