Total solar eclipse to appear over Central Texas on April 8

TEMPLE, TX (January 25, 2024) - On April 8, 2024, Central Texas will be in the path of totality for the sun's total eclipse and will be one of the best places in the United States to experience this spectacular event, with 3 minutes and 43.6 seconds of totality. it will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044. 

People viewing the eclipse from locations where the Moon’s shadow completely covers the Sun, known as the path of totality, will experience a total solar eclipse. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk. Weather permitting, people along the path of totality will see the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which is usually obscured by the bright face of the Sun. 

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, and the Moon blocks the Sun on Earth. During a total eclipse, the Moon lines up perfectly to fully obscure the Sun, resulting in "totality.” In a partial eclipse, the Moon and the Sun are not perfectly aligned, and only part of the Sun is blocked. The fact that a total solar eclipse is visible from Earth only along a narrow path for a few short minutes makes totality one of nature's rarest events.

The start of the partial phase is estimated to occur at 12:19:22 p.m., and the start time of totality is estimated to occur at 1:37:13 p.m.