My child’s school just shared helpful advice about the eclipse. Here are some highlights:
On April 8, 2024 a solar eclipse will be visible in North and Central America in addition to parts of Europe and South America.
We will experience a partial eclipse starting at 2:02 p.m. and ending at approximately 4:32 p.m. Maximum partial eclipse will occur at 3:18 p.m. and 52 seconds. Approximately 88% of the sun will be covered at this time. Cloud cover may impact how noticeable this coverage will be.
It is extremely important to understand the dangers when dealing with the sun.
Looking at the sun can cause permanent retinal damage.
This is especially critical during a solar eclipse because it is easier to look at the sun at that time than on a typical day when the sun is too bright to stare at for any length of time. Please remind your children and your entire family that no matter where they are on April 8 during the partial eclipse, they should not look directly at the sun without proper protection. Regular sunglasses or looking through camera lenses will not protect their eyes. It is only safe to look directly at the sun through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses,” that comply with the transmittance requirements of the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
Students who are at school on April 8 will be instructed to not look at the sun. Due to the fact that this partial eclipse will occur after many students are no longer at school, the school system will not be providing safety glasses for all students. (I think the school system should have provided the special glasses for the children.)
If you would like to see a pictorial representation of what will happen on April 8, this link has a good visual.
A few articles about the last eclipse as viewed from Washington D.C.
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