With next year’s total solar eclipse, up to 4 million people are expected to travel to get the best experience.
According to New Mexico-based Great American Eclipse, the event on April 8, 2024, will sweep across the United States from Texas to Maine.
“31 million Americans currently live inside the path of totality. Millions more will travel on eclipse day to witness nature’s greatest sight,” Great American Eclipse said.
Great American Eclipse has developed a model to estimate how many people will travel to see the eclipse and found that between 1 million and 4 million people will travel to the path of totality.
Texas is expected to have the most visitors followed by Indiana, Ohio, New York, Arkansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Oklahoma, Maine and New Hampshire.
“It will likely be the most-viewed astronomical event in American history. When you combine the populations of Mexico, USA, and Canada that live inside the path of totality, and add all of those who will travel on eclipse day, a total of 50 million North Americans witnessing totality is possible,” said Michael Zeiler, expert eclipse cartographer and co-founder of Great American Eclipse.
The Northwest corner of Pennsylvania, which is in the path of totality, is expected to draw between 52,000 and 207,000 visitors. The area in totality in Pa. extends south from Erie to about Sharpsville in Mercer County in the west and Warren in Warren County to the northeast.
During the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the moon will pass between Earth and the sun, blocking the sun’s light. The last total solar eclipse was on Aug. 21, 2017. The next one won’t happen for another 20 years and will only be visible on Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
It will start in the Pacific around 11:07 a.m. then cross into Texas and across the Midwest and Northeast in the afternoon. The path of totality is 115 miles wide. Outside of that path, observers will see a partial eclipse — the sun will look like a crescent shape.
As with any solar eclipse, you will need eclipse glasses to view it without causing serious damage to your eyes.
Proper protection does not mean the sunglasses you use every day or binoculars.
“Do NOT look at the sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury,” said NASA.
Safe solar viewers have special filters and eclipse glasses “are thousands of times darker” than regular sunglasses.
Viewers also can use a pinhole projector — such as a hole punched in an index card — to project the image of the sun onto a nearby surface. Instructions on how to make a pinhole projector are available online, including from NASA.
“With the sun at your back, you can then safely view the projected image. Do NOT look at the sun through the pinhole,” NASA said.
The so-called ring-of-fire eclipse on Oct. 14 was only full visible from Oregon to Texas. In Pa., we would have seen a partial eclipse but the day was cloudy and rainy.
