ST. LOUIS – What’s going to be the hottest fashion accessory this spring? You can safely answer—solar eclipse glasses.
A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, completely blocking the sun and casting its shadow on the earth. And on Monday, April 8, 2024, that shadow will cross North America. Like in 2017, St. Louis is in the right place geographically.
“There are places where you can go hundreds of years without being near the path of totality,” Will Snyder, manager of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the Saint Louis Science Center, said. “And for the St. Louis area to have back-to-back eclipses like this, it’s a really great opportunity.”
Snyder says the thrill of a total solar eclipse is not to be missed.
“It might only last a few minutes, but to have the sky grow dark and stars and planets come out in the middle of the day. It’s something that you won’t soon forget.”
Safety is the number one priority when viewing a solar eclipse. Except during the brief total phase, it is not safe to look directly at the sun without special eye protection.
“They’re not sunglasses. You don’t want to use those to look directly at the sun,” explains Snyder. “But solar glasses are designed to look directly at the sun in the sky. They block out all but 1/100,000 of 1% of the sun’s light.”
This go-round, the path of totality will not pass directly through St. Louis. If you stay in the metro, you will experience a 99% partial eclipse.
“Even with one percent of the sun’s light shining at about two o’clock local time, you’ll still need to use safe observing methods, like your solar glasses,” Snyder said. “And you won’t get to see the sky grow quite as dark as it does during totality.”
For those able to travel, it’s just a short drive down south to the big show. Carbondale, Illinois and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, are right on the center line and will experience up to four minutes of totality.
“That’s where you get to see the moon completely cover the sun in the sky,” Snyder said. “You can take your glasses off and safely look at the solar corona.”
There is only one thing that can really wreck the show.
“I think the thing that worries us is probably the weather. Because, back in October, we were gearing up for the partial eclipse, and, of course, there were a lot of clouds here. But, fingers crossed, it will be a little better on April 8,” Snyder said.
To learn more about eclipses and why they matter, visit the planetarium right now for a special star show. And on April 5, 2024, the Science Center’s First Friday program will focus on the big event.
“You can come in, you can get solar glasses and get all the information you need to safely watch the eclipse on Monday,” Snyder said.
Snyder encourages everyone to make it a point to see this eclipse.
“We won’t see another total solar eclipse in the United States until 2045. So, for almost 21 years, we won’t get to talk about a lot of this stuff.”
Learn more: April 8 Total Solar Eclipse info from the Saint Louis Science Center