A rare total solar eclipse will pass over the United States in April of next year and the City of Dallas lies directly in its path.
NASA is expecting a total solar eclipse to pass across portions of the United States as well as Mexico next year on April 8. Those in the path of totality can expect to see the skies darken during the day as if it were dusk or dawn.
The eclipse is expected to begin on the North American continent starting on the Mexican coast at about 11:07 a.m. before tracking northeast into the United States.
“The path of the eclipse continues from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine,” says NASA on its website. “The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton.”
For those hoping to view the eclipse in Dallas, weather permitting, the partial eclipse will begin at 12:23 p.m. with totality being reached by 1:40 p.m. This totality will last for approximately four minutes, reaching a maximum at 1:42 p.m. and ending at 1:44 p.m. The subsequent partial eclipse will end at 3:02 p.m.
NASA advises that people exercise caution when attempting to view the eclipse. The agency says that apart from the brief amount of time of totality, it will be unsafe to view the eclipse with the naked eye or without an apparatus fitted with a solar filter.
“When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times,” says NASA on its website.
“You can also use an indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector,” says the website.
This year has already brought several stellar spectacles across the United States. Multiple states, including Texas, were treated to the site of an annular solar eclipse or “ring of fire” on October 14, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
