You don't want to miss this awe-inspiring celestial event this April.
TOPEKA (KSNT) - Day will turn into night across much of the U.S., including Kansas, with the arrival of a total solar eclipse later this year.
While not in the direct path of the eclipse, Kansans can expect to see the majority of the event when it arrives on Monday, April 8, 2024, according to NASA. The eclipse will cast into shadow large tracts of land across Mexico, the U.S. and Canada as the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, making it appear as if it were dawn or dusk during the middle of the day.
KSNT 27 News consulted Brenda Culbertson, a Solar System Ambassador with NASA, to learn more about what Kansans can expect to see on the big day. She said people in northeast Kansas can expect to see the partial phases of the eclipse starting around 12:30 p.m. CST. People living in northeast Kansas will see, at most, 95% of the event when it happens.
The eclipse will reach its peak at 1:48 p.m. and eventually end around 3 p.m. People living in western parts of Kansas can expect to see less of the event compared with those living in the eastern part of the state. If you want to get the full eclipse experience, you'd have to travel to a state that lies in its direct path such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine.
"The nearest places to see totality for this eclipse are in Missouri and Arkansas," Culbertson said. "Almost all the eclipse chasers I know will go to a spot somewhere along the center line, the line where totality is visible."
She encourages those who want to watch the eclipse to consider wearing protective equipment. Not doing so can lead to eclipse blindness which appears as a black dot in your vision and can create permanent damage to your eyesight.
"To observe the partial solar eclipse, people should definitely wear protective eye coverings, and the best is what is called eclipse glasses," Culbertson said. "The eclipse glasses that were distributed for the partial eclipse last year are still good to use as long as there are no holes or scratches in the filter (lenses)."
Kansas was last treated to an eclipse event on Oct. 14, 2023 with a partial viewing of a 'Ring of Fire' eclipse. Kansans were only able to see around 60-80% of this annular solar eclipse if the skies were not obstructed by cloud cover.
"Solar eclipses happen every 18 months somewhere on Earth," Culbertson said. "Unlike lunar eclipses, solar eclipses last only a few minutes."
The next eclipse event that will be visible over the U.S. won't come till 2029. If you don't want to wait till almost the end of the decade to see another eclipse, make sure to carve out some time this April to catch this celestial event while it lasts. If you're curious about eclipses in general and want to learn more about them, check out this link to NASA's website.
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