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NASA Mazatlan eclipse
NASA's 2024 eclipse broadcast Screenshot of NASA's YT feed

Today April 8, North America will be able to watch a total solar eclipse, offering millions the opportunity to experience the phenomenon as the sky turns dark for over four minutes. As the date approaches, NASA revealed the best locations to observe it in the United States.

Nasa offers two feeds to see the 2024 Eclipse:

Live Video Feed

Telescope Feed

The Texas Eclipse Festival has been canceled

One of the most massive eclipse-related gatherings of the day has been canceled due to "severe weather forecast" in the area.

The Texas Eclipse Festival, which was expected to receive over 40 thousand people in the town of Burnet, was called off for risks of high winds, tornadic activity, large hail, and thunderstorms.In light of the decision, attendees who had already been enjoying the festival since Friday were asked to leave the premises early "for safety and to beat traffic." The official announcement also promised that festival goers would be receiving an email with a partial refund policy soon.

Biden, Trump Add Their Own Touch to the Solar Eclipse 2024

US President Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden AFP

Donald Trump's silhouette and Joe Biden's advice to wear protective glasses are now part of the 2024 presidential campaign as both issued campaign-tinted eclipse references on their social media.

Read all about it here

Don't Forget Your Shades

Eclipse Shades
NASA warns skygazers to use solar viewing glasses to watch the eclipse. AFP

The Solar Eclipse is turning into the biggest event of 2024. But, experts are trying to make sure that millions of Americans experience it the right way as looking at the sun — even during an eclipse — can cause eye damage.Here are some tips to keep your eyes safe during all the excitement:

  • Eclipse glasses and shades must comply with the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard, according to NASA, and should have an "ISO" label printed on them to show they comply. Here's a list of approved solar viewers published by the American Astronomical Society.
  • Regular sunglasses aren't protective enough for eclipse viewing — even if you stack more than one.
  • You also shouldn't look at the eclipse through a camera lens, phone, binoculars or telescope, even while wearing eclipse glasses, as solar rays can burn through the lens and cause eye injury.

Keep in mind that any amount of time looking at the eclipse without protection is too long, experts say.

How to Watch NASA Fire Three Rockets During Monday's Solar Eclipse

NASA's APEP Rocket
A rocket from NASA's APEP mission WSMR Army Photo via NASA

As the solar eclipse approaches, anticipation is high across its path in the U.S., as residents and tourists eagerly await its peak viewing time. In regions along the path of the totality like Dallas, spectators will witness the moon completely obscuring the Sun by the Moon. However, in other locations such as New York City or Miami, the spectacle will be partial. Adding to the excitement is NASA's highly anticipated launch of three rockets directed towards the eclipse.

It might sound alarming, but the agency's project, titled Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP), is simply aimed at taking atmospheric measurements during the event when sunlight momentarily dims over a portion of the planet and the Earth's atmosphere cools.

The APEP's sounding rockets will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, outside the path of totality, at three different times: 45 minutes before the eclipse, during the eclipse peak, and 45 minutes after the local eclipse.

See the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse via NASA +Live

Nasa offers two feeds to see the 2024 Eclipse:

Telescope Feed

Live Video Feed

The solar eclipse will move across Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.

Texas Eclipse Festival Is On

For an astronomical event like 'The Texas Eclipse,' the biggest state in the U.S. must also host a Texas-style astro-party. Enter... The Texas Eclipse Festival. It's a 5-day event that will be taking place in a campground in the city of Burnet, just an hour away from Austin. Besides being a perfect spot to experience the "full totality" of the eclipse, the festival offers a mix of music, tech and art.

All in all there will be over 300+ performances and participants who, as the press release puts it, "will offer a diverse range of experiences, including holistic and movement workshops, psychedelic sessions and the wonders of nature, transforming the raw land into a thriving Global Eclipse Village of creativity, insight, and inspiration."

Tourism Boom Expected Across U.S.

The upcoming total solar eclipse, which will be visible from over a dozen U.S. states on April 8th, is driving a surge in tourism nationwide, with some states anticipating record-breaking levels of travel and spending. Eateries, hotels, and airlines are determined to capitalize on the once-in-decades event.

Texas, anticipated to experience the largest surge in visitors, could gain as much as $285 million in tourism revenues due to the eclipse, Bulent Temel, an assistant professor of practice in economics at UT-San Antonio, told San Antonio Express- News. He suggested that this event could mark the most profitable 22 minutes in the state's history.

Find the best spot in the U.S.

Location Partial Begins Totality Begins Maximum Totality Ends Partial Ends
Dallas, Texas 12:23 p.m. CDT 1:40 p.m. CDT 1:42 p.m. CDT 1:44 p.m. CDT 3:02 p.m. CDT
Idabel, Oklahoma 12:28 p.m. CDT 1:45 p.m. CDT 1:47 p.m. CDT 1:49 p.m. CDT 3:06 p.m. CDT
Little Rock, Arkansas 12:33 p.m. CDT 1:51 p.m. CDT 1:52 p.m. CDT 1:54 p.m. CDT 3:11 p.m. CDT
Poplar Bluff, Missouri 12:39 p.m. CDT 1:56 p.m. CDT 1:56 p.m. CDT 2:00 p.m. CDT 3:15 p.m. CDT
Paducah, Kentucky 12:42 p.m. CDT 2:00 p.m. CDT 2:01 p.m. CDT 2:02 p.m. CDT 3:18 p.m. CDT
Carbondale, Illinois 12:42 p.m. CDT 1:59 p.m. CDT 2:01 p.m. CDT 2:03 p.m. CDT 3:18 p.m. CDT
Evansville, Indiana 12:45 p.m. CDT 2:02 p.m. CDT 2:04 p.m. CDT 2:05 p.m. CDT 3:20 p.m. CDT
Cleveland, Ohio 1:59 p.m. EDT 3:13 p.m. EDT 3:15 p.m. EDT 3:17 p.m. EDT 4:29 p.m. EDT
Erie, Pennsylvania 2:02 p.m. EDT 3:16 p.m. EDT 3:18 p.m. EDT 3:20 p.m. EDT 4:30 p.m. EDT
Buffalo, New York 2:04 p.m. EDT 3:18 p.m. EDT 3:20 p.m. EDT 3:22 p.m. EDT 4:32 p.m. EDT
Burlington, Vermont 2:14 p.m. EDT 3:26 p.m. EDT 3:27 p.m. EDT 3:29 p.m. EDT 4:37 p.m. EDT
Lancaster, New Hampshire 2:16 p.m. EDT 3:27 p.m. EDT 3:29 p.m. EDT 3:30 p.m. EDT 4:38 p.m. EDT
Caribou, Maine 2:22 p.m. EDT 3:32 p.m. EDT 3:33 p.m. EDT 3:34 p.m. EDT 4:40 p.m. EDT

2024 TOTAL ECLIPSE

After being seeing and experienced in Mazatlán, on the Mexican Pacific state of Sinaloa, the solar eclipse's path total footprint will pass through Durango and Coahuila. NASA says that the small city of Nazas, Durango (pop. 3,622) is the location of the greatest extent of the solar eclipse, with over 4 minutes of total exposure.

Eclipse 2024
Path of the 2024 total solar eclipse in North America AFP

SOLAR ECLIPSE TIME

According to NASA, the moon will block the sun for some 4.28 minutes, but the eclipse will last longer than this with the sun covered partially for up to 12 minutes.

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