The Great North American Eclipse - April 8, 2024

On Monday, April 8, 2024 all of North America will experience a spectacular celestial event: a solar eclipse! Hancock County will be in the path of totality, meaning we will see a total eclipse where the sun is completely blocked by the moon. The eclipse will begin at 1:51 PM in Greenfield and reach totality at 3:06 PM, lasting for 3 minutes and 59 seconds. The eclipse will end at 4:23 PM.

The most important thing to know about this event is this:

DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN!!

Looking at the sun without the proper filters can cause permanent damage to your eyes (yes, really).

VIEWING THE ECLIPSE

According to NASA, "When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times.” The only time it is safe to look directly at a solar eclipse with the naked eye is if you happen to be in the path of totality - and only during the few minutes of totality. Hancock County is in the path of totality for the 2024 eclipse!

To obtain the proper eye protection, you have a few options:

1. Claim a free pair at the Information Desk of the Hancock County Public Library in Greenfield, or the Sugar Creek branch in New Palestine, while supplies last.
2. Purchase eclipse glasses from a local retailer or online. Make sure that your eclipse glasses adhere to the standards outlined here.
   • Glasses must be compliant with ISO 12312-12 (sometimes written as ISO 12312-2:2015) safety standards.
   • Look for filters made by reputable manufacturers listed here.
   • DO NOT use homemade filters or sunglasses.
3. Use one of these indirect viewing methods:

   

   

   

4. Watch the NASA Livestream. See the eclipse up close and personal from the comfort of your home, no safety measures required - https://www.youtube.com/live/2MJY_ptQW1o
5. Attend an eclipse viewing party! Many events will provide glasses to attendees during the event. See the list of Hancock County eclipse events.
6. Thinking of using film negatives, welder's glass, or some other make-shift viewing method? If all else fails, you may have heard of just using something else for a filter. Before you do, read the guidelines on mreclipse.com. The only non-specialized viewing methods they recommend are shade 14 welding glass (NASA says shade 12 and up, but 12 seems too bright, and shade 13 is good but hard to find) or two layers of fully-exposed and developed silver-bearing black-and-white negative film. We do not recommend any of these methods unless you really know what you're doing.
   Definitely Not Recommended - "metal-coated polyester film that is not specifically intended for solar observation, smoked glass, floppy disks, black color transparency (slide) film, chromogenic film (not tested here), and compact discs (because of the inconsistent quality of the metal coating)." - Sky and Telescope

Check out this primer from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for more information about this exciting event:

Want to know what the eclipse will look like in other parts of the country, or thinking about making the trek to the path of totality? Check out this interactive map.

For more information on the 2024 solar eclipse, including weather, safety, and more, check out - https://eclipse2024.org/

Obligatory disclaimer: All information listed on this website was obtained from the links provided, and has been deemed accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, we are not experts in safety measures pertaining to solar viewing, nor are we to be held liable in any way for damage you may receive from looking at the sun without proper safety measures in place. Please thoroughly read the safety measures put out by NASA at https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/safety/. If in doubt, don’t look at the sun.