Most Americans will be able to view at least some degree of a partial solar eclipse on April 8, but their distance between the location and the path of totality will determine how much of the sun will be covered by the moon.
The eclipse will cross 13 states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Vermont. Some parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also be in the path of totality.
April solar eclipse timeline: Pensacola solar eclipse timeline shows the best time to view this rare cosmic event
A full map of the exact path of totality can be found below, in an interactive map created by French eclipse expert Xavier Jubier.
At its greatest point, Pensacola residents will be lucky enough to see between 76% and 78% coverage of the sun, depending on how far north they travel within Escambia County.
Here’s a look at what Pensacola residents can expect to see during the 2024 solar eclipse.
What will the April solar eclipse look like in Pensacola?
Here’s a time-lapse of what Pensacola residents can expect to see during the 2024 solar eclipse. Enter your zip code, or select a city, to get started.
The 2017 solar eclipse can give us a realistic glimpse at what to expect
Pensacola residents living in the area in 2017 will remember the last total solar eclipse most similar to the one we’ll see in April. This breathtaking eclipse happened on Aug. 21, 2017, and stopped most of the U.S. in its tracks.
During the 2017 eclipse, the path of totality crossed through parts of Western North Carolina. You can see what that looked like in the gallery below.
In Pensacola, the eclipse managed to cover about 81% of the sun, just a hair more than we’ll get to see this time around. Residents across the city stopped to catch a glimpse of the eclipse at various viewing staging sprinkled about, such as the Blue Wahoos Stadium, the West Florida Public Library and schools.
While News Journal cameras were not equipped to safely photograph the eclipse directly, the galleries below are the best way to get a sense of the awe surrounding the eclipse.
Unfortunately, what the photos don’t show is the eclipse itself. Taking a photograph of the sun without proper equipment can damage cameras. NASA compares the scene of a total solar eclipse to what we experience during dusk or dawn. The cool part being, of course, looking up and seeing the sun partially or fully covered.
During the peek of the eclipse, the sun will have a crescent-shaped shadow covering it, similar to the moon’s waning and waxing crescent phases. The photo below does a good job illustrating the concept.
When is the eclipse?
The 2024 solar eclipse takes place on April 8. In Pensacola, we can expect the eclipse to begin around 12:36 p.m. and end around 3:13 p.m.
Will you need eclipse glasses?
You might have noticed everyone wearing eclipse glasses and even makeshift glasses to protect their eyes while they watched the moon’s shadow gradually cascade across the sun. So, will you need to wear those again this time around? Unfortunately, yes. It’s still a bad idea to look directly at the sun even when it’s partially obscured.
The sun in unimaginably powerful. Looking directly at it can burn your eyes, damage your retinas and even cause blindness. And when it comes to eye protection, things like sunglasses simply won’t cut it.
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Instead, you’ll need to purchase or make solar eclipse glasses, which are 100,000 times darker and block nearly all visible, infrared and ultraviolet light. They need to comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
The American Astronomical Society offers links on its website of vendors selling approved solar eclipse glasses.
Solar eclipse glasses also are available on Amazon, but triple check to make sure they comply with all safety standards.
Those interested in making their own solar eclipse glasses can find more information here.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Best eclipse watch spot in Florida? Pensacola will see 78% coverage