East Texas to be a viewing destination for upcoming eclipses

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Mark your calendars for April 8, 2024, because there will be a total solar eclipse visible in much of East Texas.

“The sun and the moon, they line up just right that the moon completely blocks out the light from the sun. And that’s a really cool phenomenon because the sky turns dark. You can see stars and planets in the middle of the day.”

Beau Hartweg with the TJC Earth and Space Science Center says the last total eclipse in Tyler took place in 1878. The next one will not be seen until after the year 3000.

In terms of visible locations, it will matter where you are in east Texas.

“If you’re to the East of Tyler or South of Tyler you’re going to get about 99 percent coverage. But really we want to encourage people to get into the path of totality because there is a huge difference between 100 percent totality and 99 percent coverage.”

Hartweg says the length of totality will also be based on your location. if you’re in Tyler, totality is estimated to last for about two minutes.

Now if you can’t wait for next year’s astronomical event, there will be an annular solar eclipse happening October 14th of this year.

“Where about 80 to 85 percent of the sun will be blocked by the moon. That’s something that’s really impressive to see.”

But for now, TJC is preparing and wanting you to know all the details at their latest exhibit.

“This truly is a once in a lifetime, actually once in several lifetime event for our community so we are very excited about that.”

Learn more about the upcoming total and partial solar eclipses: Click here for information from the TJC Earth and Space Science Center. Click here to learn why Tyler is so involved with these upcoming events.

Copyright 2023 KLTV. All rights reserved.