How to watch and record Monday’s total solar eclipse

On April 8, a solar eclipse will darken the sky. This is a rare astronomical event: the last total solar eclipse in North America occurred on August 21, 2017, and another total solar eclipse will not be visible from the North American continent until 2044. The path of a total solar eclipse – in which the sun will be completely obscured by the moon – covers more than 30 million people in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Those lucky enough may see the sun’s corona and “diamond rings” – both eye-catching sights. Other areas will experience a partial eclipse, the extent of which depends on how close you are to the total eclipse. Watching the moon devour the sun, even just a little bit, is still a spectacular sight.

So, which cities and regions will experience totality, and when will it happen? What is the weather forecast for these areas? If you do have clear vision, how can you safely watch and record the event?

Where and when will you experience a total solar eclipse in the United States?

The good news is that many major centers are within the 100-mile-wide zone of totality, so millions of people will be able to see the total solar eclipse. It follows a northeastern path, so Mexico’s Pacific Coast will first see Mazatlan around 10:57 AM PDT (total solar eclipse begins at 12:07 PDT), followed by the city of Torreon (all times is local time).

The total solar eclipse enters the United States (Eagle Pass, Texas) at 12:10 PM CDT and hits Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas—three of the five most populous cities in Texas. indivual. From there, it enters Little Rock, Arkansas, and then parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, including Indianapolis.

The Ohio cities of Dayton, Toledo and Cleveland received full performances, followed by Erie, Pennsylvania, then Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, New York, and Maine. Canada is also interesting, with parts of southern Ontario (Hamilton, Niagara Falls) and Quebec (Montreal) as well as New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and finally Bonavista and Labrador on the NDT (Newfoundland time) 4:03 p.m.

If you’re elsewhere on the continent and unable to travel, be aware that the closer you are to the zone of totality, the more the Sun will be obscured by the Moon (this map shows how much of the eclipse you will get, depending on where you are on the continent where).

An impressive list of major centers are all within 200 miles of totality, so they will receive 90% or better of the eclipse (Houston, St. Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Toronto, New York, Boston).

Anyone in the southern, midwestern, and northeastern United States should see a decent spectacle, as do those in southeastern Canada and the Atlantic coast. Even if you’re not in these areas, you may still see (and capture) a mini-solar eclipse.

How long will the 2024 solar eclipse last?

The time between the moon’s first eclipse of the sun (a partial solar eclipse) and the separation of the two celestial bodies is long – up to two hours and 40 minutes in Dallas and 2 hours and 18 minutes in Cariboo, Maine.

However, the totality itself is short-lived, and its duration depends on your distance from the center of the totality belt and the time of day. Dallas’ time was less than 4 minutes, Presque Isle, Maine’s time was less than 3 minutes, and Montreal’s time was only 1 minute and 12 seconds. So you need to be prepared and hope for clear skies during this brief period.

What’s the weather forecast for my area?

It’s too early to make precise forecasts, but a week is enough time to get a general picture by region. Suffice it to say, April is not an ideal month for clear skies. That said, the eclipse will still be visible through light clouds, and even if the clouds are thick, the sky will become very dark.

Unfortunately, the chance of precipitation does appear to be above average throughout much of the eclipse. Forecasts predict that the further northeast you live, the greater your chances of clear skies, which goes against historical trends.

That said, Dallas is expected to have showers throughout the day (58%), which means persistent cloud cover and no clear views if that holds true. Conditions improve by the time you get to Indianapolis (partly cloudy, 24% chance of rain), while conditions are better in Buffalo, NY (partly cloudy, 24% chance of rain) is 11%).

However, conditions are currently looking good in Montreal, with mostly sunny weather and only a 9% chance of rain, as is the situation in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Niagara Falls is expected to have good weather during the total solar eclipse (mostly sunny, 18%) and will be in the path of totality, leading the city to declare a state of emergency out of an abundance of caution. Officials estimate that as many as a million people may have descended on the area, creating potentially dangerous gatherings of people.

How to watch the solar eclipse at home?

Staring at the sun is obviously bad for your vision, and doing so during a solar eclipse is just as bad. Although you may not feel immediate discomfort, damage to your eyes from solar retinopathy may occur. This can lead to serious consequences such as eye pain, blind spots, blurred vision, etc.

To view the eclipse safely, you must purchase a pair of eclipse glasses that meet the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard (ordinary sunglasses will not do). This determines the maximum light transmission and the allowed wavelength transmission range (UVA, UVB and IR).

There’s certainly still time to grab a pair if you don’t have one yet. The American Astronomical Society (AAS) offers a number of recommendations for manufacturers and suppliers to online and retail chains.

Warby Parker is one of them, offering free glasses (limit two pairs per person, while supplies last). You can also find them at Staples, Lowes, and Walmart, or buy them online at B&H and various science and astronomy stores.

However, the AAS advises against searching for the lowest price on Amazon or eBay in case you end up with a fake. “Before you purchase a solar viewer or filter online, we recommend that you ensure that (1) the seller is identified on the website, and (2) the seller is listed on this page,” the company states on its Solar Eclipse Across America website said above. .

How to watch the solar eclipse safely without glasses

It is also possible to view the solar eclipse indirectly without glasses. The easiest way to do this is to punch a small round hole in a piece of thick paper or cardboard and position it so that sunlight shines through the hole onto the ground or flat surface (you can also stick a piece of foil with a hole in it, As shown here by NASA). This will project an image of the sun’s disk, allowing you to see the eclipse instantly.

The same pinhole principle allows you to use anything with a hole in it, such as a colander, to project dozens of tiny eclipses onto a surface. Trees can do the same thing, casting strange shadows of leaves with little patches of eclipse in them.

For a better experience, you can build a humble box projector. This way, sunlight shines through the hole in the foil onto the white card, and you can see the card through the larger hole, with the sun behind you. The Canadian Space Agency explains in detail how to do this.

Never view a solar eclipse directly through binoculars or telescopes as this will definitely damage your eyes.That is, you can use binoculars or a telescope project Shine the sun onto a piece of paper as shown in the video.

How to take photos or videos of a solar eclipse

Unfortunately, you can’t just point your smartphone or camera at the sun to record a solar eclipse, because the brightness will overwhelm the sensor and ruin the image (and possibly damage the sensor). Fortunately, you can protect your camera just like you protect your eyes.

The cheapest way is to buy an extra set of eclipse glasses, cut an eyepiece out of them and attach it to the lens of your smartphone (or other camera). This will reduce light levels enough to see the Sun in detail throughout both partial and total solar eclipses.

You can also buy dedicated smartphone solar filters, such as the VisiSolar Photo Filter, which are designed for use with the camera rather than direct viewing. Another option is the Solar Snap Eclipse App Kit, which also provides an app to help photograph a solar eclipse. It is recommended to wear solar glasses to protect your eyes when setting up your smartphone or camera.

If you’re photographing the eclipse with a dedicated mirrorless or DSLR camera, you’ll need a Mylar, 16-stop ND (neutral density) or hydrogen alpha solar filter. Again, do not look directly into the optical viewfinder of a digital SLR camera in sunlight if the lens does not have one of these filters installed (the electronic viewfinder on a mirrorless camera is safe).

To photograph the eclipse with your smartphone, turn off the flash and put your camera in ultra-wide or wide-angle mode to keep it in the frame. If you are not wearing eclipse glasses, do not point your camera by looking directly at the sun.

Don’t use digital zoom to try to make the eclipse larger, as you’ll lose resolution (you can zoom in later in a photo editing app). Once the focus is set on the Sun, use your smartphone’s focus lock feature so it doesn’t “hunt” for focus and blur the eclipse.

During a total eclipse, the “diamond ring” effect only lasts for a split second, so use your camera’s burst mode or you may miss the shot. And try to capture RAW (rather than JPEG) images to preserve as much detail as possible for later editing. Some iPhones and Android smartphones have built-in RAW functionality, but if not, you can use a third-party application.

If you decide to capture video, of course you’ll also need a filter. But you should also use a tripod, as shooting handheld can cause blur and make your footage unstable. Even cheap tripods and simple smartphone stands will do the trick. Capture the highest resolution (4K or even 8K) at the highest quality possible. You’ll also capture any cheers, shouts, etc. – a precious keepsake you can look back on over and over again.

More resources

There are a number of government and private websites offering more information about the eclipse, starting with NASA’s eclipse website, which details eye safety, imaging, resources, and even an overall app – an “interactive map” that shows What You’ll See Anywhere” Locations of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse in North America. “

NASA also has a dedicated site for the North American solar eclipse, as does the National Weather Service and the National Solar Observatory. A private website called Great American Eclipse is mostly commercial, but does have a very useful map showing the bands of the total solar eclipse and the extent of the eclipse you will see depending on location, as well as listing it by city Complete list of solar eclipse times and durations.

Updated April 5 at 12:30 p.m. ET: This story was updated after publication to include more details about the path of the total solar eclipse.