(NEW YORK) — A total solar eclipse is passing over North America on April 8, creating a path of totality that will cast some parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada in darkness.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 08, 12:35 PM
How some schools prepared students for the eclipse
As millions of Americans gather to watch the solar eclipse, science teachers have been preparing their students for the historic event.
LaToya Padilla, an earth science teacher at School of the Arts in the Rochester City School District in upstate New York, said she has been talking to her students about the eclipse since October of last year. Rochester is in the path of totality.
“We talked about how it’s kind of a once-in-a lifetime experience, we talked about how the last eclipse in Rochester was 99 years ago, and how it might be a whole [other] lifetime before you get to see another eclipse unless you go chasing them, which some people do,” she told ABC News.
Padilla said she taught her students the difference between a partial solar eclipse, which is when the moon only partially covers the sun, and a total solar eclipse, when the moon — for a short period — completely blocks the sun.
She also explained the proper eye protection to wear and how when the moon covers the sun, observers will be able to see planets, including Venus and Jupiter, in the sky.
“I feel like it’s very important because you don’t want [students] to wait until they’re older to realize that missed out on this opportunity,” Padilla said. “Even though they might not fully understand what a unique experience it is, talking to them now about it and getting them to understand that it is unique, and you may never experience this again.”
Apr 08, 11:46 AM
FAA grounds some flights due to eclipse
The FAA is stopping some flights from taking off to two small commercial airports due to eclipse volume.
Certain flights headed to Southern Illinois Airport, located in Jackson County, and Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, located in Williamson County — both in the path of totality — are being held at their destinations until at least 12 p.m. ET.
The FAA website indicates that the probability of the ground stop being extended is between 30% and 60%.
-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney
Apr 08, 11:11 AM
Why is April’s total solar eclipse historic?
The contiguous United States hasn’t seen a total solar eclipse since August 2017, but the seven-year difference between eclipses is “deceptive,” Fred Espenak, a former astrophysicist from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and author of “Road Atlas for the Total Solar Eclipse of 2024,” previously told ABC News.
“If you look previous to 2017, the last one was in 1979,” he said. “So, it’s a little bit deceptive that these two eclipses were in seven years of each other.”
The next total solar eclipse to occur in the contiguous U.S. won’t be until August 2044 in Montana and North Dakota, and the next to span coast-to-coast is slated for 2045, according to NASA.
Comparatively, 2024’s total solar eclipse is “better” than 2017’s, because the path of totality is almost 60% wider and the duration of the eclipse is about 60% longer, according to Espenak, who explained some locations within the path will experience up to four and a half minutes of the eclipse.
-ABC News’ Leah Sarnoff
Apr 08, 11:02 AM
What to know about the total solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse is passing over North America on April 8, creating a path of totality that will cast some parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada in darkness.
During a total solar eclipse, which is a rare celestial event, the moon passes between the sun and Earth. The moon slowly covers and, for a brief period, completely blocks the face of the sun.
In the U.S., the path of totality begins in Texas and will travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Some parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse, according to NASA.
April 8’s solar eclipse will be the last of its kind to occur in North America for the next 20 years. There will not be another total solar eclipse in North America again until 2044.
The best time to view totality will depend on where you are in the U.S. In Eagle Pass, Texas, totality will occur at 1:27 p.m. CDT and last 4 minutes and 23 seconds. In Presque Isle, Maine, totality will occur at 3:32 p.m. EDT and last 2 minutes and 47 seconds.
Apr 08, 10:57 AM
Weather forecast along path of totality
From Mexico to Maine, if you’re in a city where the total solar eclipse will grace the skies Monday afternoon, cloud coverage may dampen your view.
Mazatlan, Mexico, will have low clouds through the morning. The clouds will begin to break by the afternoon, but the weather may still be mostly cloudy at the time of the total eclipse.
Del Rio, Texas, is forecast to have mostly cloudy skies, so eclipse viewing weather won’t be ideal. There’s a chance to see the eclipse in Dallas, where the skies will be partly cloudy with some passing clouds.
In Niagara Falls, New York, the weather will be mostly cloudy with an isolated shower is possible, making it hard to see the eclipse.
Meanwhile, Houlton, Maine, will have sunny skies — and will be the best place to see the eclipse in all of North America.
-ABC News’ Emily Shapiro and Max Golembo
Apr 08, 10:37 AM
This city in New York has been planning for the eclipse for 7 years
For seven years, Deb Ross has been helping prepare the city of Rochester, New York, to welcome thousands of visitors for the total solar eclipse.
Rochester, which is in the path of totality, is expecting between 300,000 and 500,000 visitors and to earn between $10 million and $12 million over eclipse weekend.
“I think probably I was little over the top, so maybe people were saying, ‘Seven years out, really Deb? Six years out, five years out, this a little early, isn’t it?'” Ross told ABC News. “But the fact is pulling all these folks together and working for something that’s going to happen far in the future for three minutes and 38 seconds, that is a kind of wacky proposition. But it was really fun, and everybody just jumped right on board.”
As chair of the Rochester Eclipse Task Force, Ross has recruited the local government, museums, small businesses and even the local transportation council to make the event memorable for visitors by creating eclipse-themed events, food and merchandise.
“We’ve had practice runs, we’ve had a lot of meetings to get at the nitty gritty, and I’ve been able to be part of those and watching everybody here play so beautifully together in this sandbox,” she said. “I think what we’ll be doing here on Monday, April 8. is converting hundreds of thousands of skeptics into eclipse chasers.”
Apr 08, 9:47 AM
What to know about the total solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse is passing over North America on April 8, creating a path of totality that will cast some parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada in darkness.
During a total solar eclipse, which is a rare celestial event, the moon passes between the sun and Earth. The moon slowly covers and, for a brief period, completely blocks the face of the sun.
In the U.S., the path of totality begins in Texas and will travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Some parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse, according to NASA.
April 8’s solar eclipse will be the last of its kind to occur in North America for the next 20 years. There will not be another total solar eclipse in North America again until 2044.
The best time to view totality will depend on where you are in the U.S. In Eagle Pass, Texas, totality will occur at 1:27 p.m. CDT and last 4 minutes and 23 seconds. In Presque Isle, Maine, totality will occur at 3:32 p.m. EDT and last 2 minutes and 47 seconds.
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