Texas Eclipse 2024: Be in the direct Path of the next texas solar eclipse!

 One of of our special guests at Camp Riverview will be Greg Redfern, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/greg.redfern.906  , X https://twitter.com/SkyGuyinVA   and his daily blog  www.whatsupthespaceplace.com. He has kindly provided some insight from his years of experience with viewing Solar Eclipses from across the globe: On April 8, 2024, the Sun and New Moon will meet in the daytime skies over Texas to create a sky sight without compare – an eclipse of the Sun https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america-2024  . For viewers at Camp Riverview, the Sun will be totally eclipsed by the New Moon while for the vast majority of viewers in North America the Sun will be only partially eclipsed https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america/how-why .

31.6 million people in the U.S. are estimated to live in the 108 to 122 mile-wide path of totality that crosses the country from Texas to Maine.The path of totality will cross numerous major U.S. cities and is expected to draw more viewers than the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 – an estimated 215 million – that also crossed the U.S. https://wtop.com/science/2017/08/solar-eclipse-everything-you-need-to-know/  .

This 2024 Total Solar Eclipse will differ from 2017’s event in a number of significant ways. Most notably totality will be minutes longer, 4 minutes 27 seconds at Camp Riverview, versus only two-plus minutes. Also, the Sun is approaching Solar Maximum which is predicted to produce a far different appearance in the ghostly corona that occurs only during totality 

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/how-is-the-2024-total-solar-eclipse-different-than-the-2017-eclipse/   .

Again, Safety First

Solar eclipse observers have to follow safe Sun viewing procedures as failure to do so will result in eye injury  https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/think-you-hurt-your-eyes-watching-eclipse . 

Other great details you need to know about eye safety and how to safely view the solar eclipse https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety   .   If you plan on wearing solar eclipse glasses https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/viewers-filters , using a camera/smartphone and/or any kind of optical aid https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/optics-filters     you need to order the appropriate items NOW to insure you will have them on eclipse day.

In 2017 there were solar filter/viewer products that did not meet the strict ISO standard and presented a danger to the public  https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/scientists-warn-fake-eclipse-glasses-can-literally-cook-your-retina/2017/08/18/7172989a-8381-11e7-b359-15a3617c767b_story.html  .

Camp Riverview has an ample supply of ISO and AAS approved solar eclipse glasses on hand in our store.

For your eye safety the American Astronomical Society (AAS) states on its website https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/viewers-filters :

“As of February 8th — T (totality) minus 2 months — we are no longer adding vendors to this page. Any company worthy of your business should have established itself well before last October’s annular solar eclipse across the Americas, let alone well before this coming April’s eclipse!

Important: We do not recommend searching for eclipse glasses on Amazon, eBay, Temu, or any other online marketplace and buying from whichever vendor offers the lowest price. Before you buy a solar viewer or filter online, we recommend that you make sure that (1) the seller is identified on the site and (2) the seller is listed on this page.”

Extensive preparations were made in 2017 and again in 2024 by individual states and cities regarding the expected influx of visitors traveling to and from localities to see totality. Safety on the road is paramount as can be seen by this snippet from 2017 (which still applies to 2024):

Martin Knopp, associate administrator of the Office of Operations in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington cautioned that motorists must keep their eyes on the road and not watch the eclipse while driving. Many Interstate Highways are in the Path of Totality and there may be cars pulled over on the shoulders with people out of their cars looking at the eclipse. FHWA is an excellent source of information if you are planning on driving to the eclipse https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop16085/index.htm  For 2024, experts and experienced Solar Eclipse Hunters urge folks to consider adding on extra travel days to avoid the HUGE crowds expected in Texas. Do NOT wait until the day of the eclipse to get to your destination.