Texan Magazine
By Bill Dante
NBC Meteorologist
A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth. On April 8, 2024, daylight will turn to night in certain cities in Texas for over 4 minutes. In Texas, the total eclipse will begin at 1:30p.m. near Del Rio and then continue its path over central Texas.
I heard some people mention that we just had an eclipse in Texas this past October. We did…..but that was an Annular Solar Eclipse, NOT a Total Solar Eclipse. As a matter of fact we get a few partials during the year but not a full solar eclipse. Write this down, you’ll sound smart, a total eclipse happens every 18 months somewhere in the world…. but NOT in Texas. Are you ready? The LAST TIME A TOTAL ECLIPSE OCCURRED OVER CENTRAL TEXAS WAS IN 1397. That was 627 years ago! That’s 100 years before Columbus stepped onto the beaches in the Caribbean. The next total eclipse in the United States will be in 2044.
Now you know what all the excitement is about! People are coming from all over the world to Texas to view the total eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024. Some hotel rooms in the eclipse area are going for $1000 or more a night with a three night minimum! Homes located in the eclipse path are renting for thousands of dollars.
The full solar eclipse will come up from the pacific into Mazatlan, Mexico and enter into Texas over Del Rio. The shadow line will continue into the Texas Hill Country. San Antonio will be the largest Texas city to get a good view but ONLY the north and northwest side of the city will offer the best viewing. The further up IH10 or north on IH-281 you go, the longer the total view. If you travel about an hour outside of San Antonio to Kerrville or Fredericksburg, you will have a better total eclipse experience, as those towns are considered to be in the path of totality.
By the way, I mentioned that hotel rooms were going for lots of money. But if you want to be right in the center of the total eclipse then here is a deal you may want to know about. The Texas Rangers Heritage Center in Fredericksburg, Texas has 200 paved parking spaces and is only charging $100 per car, for that day, right on Highway 290.
The Former Texas Rangers Law Enforcement, and the full solar eclipse! Talk about memories. You need to call them and make a reservation ASAP.
1-(830)-990-1192
trhc.org
The eclipse continues across Texas touching the southeast corner of Dallas and then all the way to Canada. Oh, if you haven’t selected a spot yet watch out, because for the entire state, according to DPS, traffic is going to be bumper to bumper for hours. So leave yourself lots of time no matter where you are planning to go.
What about your eyes???
You should know by now to protect your eyes with (ISO 12312-2) special solar glasses. You can look up some other ways to safely view the eclipse on Google. BUT THE VERY DARKEST SUNGLASSES WILL NOT WORK! Say that five times out loud! People have damaged their eyes and have even gone blind without the proper eyewear. Not even partial phases! This is NOT an old wives tail. Take care of yourself and your family!
Enjoy this once in many lifetimes experience.
The following data is from NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, from
eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Depending where you are in central Texas, the eclipse will start around 12:14 p.m. The full will be approximately at 1:34 p.m. and after just minutes, back to the partial and should be over around 2:55 p.m. in central Texas.
That’s a lot of partial and full solar eclipse for everyone to enjoy.
Together we are living history!!
