Monday April 8, 2024 will be a special day in Indiana.
If the sun is not obscured by clouds, you will be able to see something you probably have never seen in your lifetime and probably will never see again unless you wait years and travel hundreds or thousands of miles.
The TOTAL solar eclipse is coming to a wide swath of Indiana. You MUST be in the Totality Zone to experience a once in a lifetime afternoon.
- Outdoors it will become dark in the middle of the afternoon
- Stars and Planets will appear in the afternoon sky
- Street lights will come on automatically in the darkness
- Afternoon temperature drop will be noticeable
- You will see the Corona surrounding the Sun, which you probably have never seen before.
- Birds, frogs, crickets and other wildlife will think it is evening and will change behavior in the middle of the afternoon.
- ”Shadow Banding” will be visible. It will appear like a “rippling effect” on the ground or on plane surfaces like a light colored car or a white sheet you put on the ground. It is caused by atmospheric refracting or lensing much like the ripple design on the bottom of a clear swimming pool on a sunny day.
- Light levels drop considerably so if you want to access anything like a camera, binoculars, white sheet, solar glasses, diary, cell phone, flashlight, laser pointer or anything else during the eclipse, best to lay it out on a table beforehand so you know where everything is.
- Be Mobile. Some people will be in an area that is totally clouded over but perhaps 10 miles away, it might be clear blue skies. If you really want to see things, be mobile. Be sure to leave early and be flexible. Remember, you may encounter traffic jams and cannot reach your intended destination.
- Children and adults will remember making this unforgettable memory that will only last a few seconds to 3 or 4 minutes depending on where you are standing at the time.
- Do not get late to your site. Experts say getting to your site early allows you to enjoy the whole experience, plan things out in your mind and not rush. Soak it all in on your own terms.
Watch the video below just to get a feel for eclipse day and what you might see! Click on video below.
BUT…
If you are not in the right place, you will miss the boat and the special moment. Lafayette, Chicago, Logansport, Mulberry, most of Frankfort will NOT be in the right place.
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE FUN FACTS from Fritz Kleinhans, PhD who has traveled the world to see 7 total solar eclipses:
- 7 minutes is the maximum ANYONE, ANY TIME, ANY ECLIPSE could possibly stay in moon’s shadow and observe totality. The only exception to this is if you are in an aircraft chasing the shadow. It this case, you can stay in the shadow longer than 7 minutes.
- After April 8, 2024 the next accessible total solar eclipse in the world will be in Northern Africa on August 2, 2027. Some total solar eclipses are impractical to see because the location is so remote.
- On April 8, 2024, the eclipse will start at 12:40 EDT in the Pacific Ocean and proceed to Maximum duration in Mexico near the Texas boarder at 2:25 EDT. Indiana totality will arrive after 3PM (with totality reaching Kirklin at 3:06:55). Totality ends at sunset at 3:55 PM EDT in the Atlantic Ocean.
- The maximum duration for totality on April 8th anywhere along the path is 4 minutes 27 seconds in Northern Mexico near the Texas Boarder.
- The width of the totality shadow is about 115 miles.
- There are three kinds of solar eclipses: Partial, Annual and Total. A total solar eclipse is by far the most rare and dramatic. “Partial” looks like a crescent. “Annular” looks like a ring of light around the moon in front of the sun. “Total” blocks the entire sun and creates darkness during the daytime.
- In his talk at the 2023 Indiana Family Star Party at Camp Cullom, Dr. Fritz Kleinhans shared a list of things “I will never do again” during a solar eclipse.
— Remember, you don’t HAVE to know or do anything to enjoy the eclipse. Do not be so pulled into fiddling with your camera or technology in general that you miss the whole thing. Some experts do nothing for the first half of totality but enjoy it and look around. THEN, halfway through it, they take pictures, use telescopes or binoculars (properly) or focus on capturing it. That way, you are SURE to have a chance to truly see, experience and enjoy the rare experience at least during the first half.
—-Do not get late to the site. Arrive early enough to enjoy the whole experience without rushing. Remember there may be traffic jams in some places.
—Remember the light levels drop considerably so if you want to access anything on a table or on the ground, know where they are and be able to get to them easily.
—Be mobile. One time Dr. Kleinhans was in Hawaii with total cloud cover only about 10 miles from clear blue skies. He traveled to Hawaii to miss the whole thing…and was only 10 miles away from enjoying the reason he traveled all the way there!
—Dr. Kleinhans as learned to look at the surroundings. Take in the WHOLE experience. Don’t focus on ANY one thing…your camera, your phone, your binoculars or telescope, other people or the shadows. Don’t focus on ANY ONE THING. Time will go quickly so just try to look around and take in your whole surroundings. See the corona, the horizon, the stars and planets, hear the sounds, the rippling on the ground…everything. Time will go quickly. Don’t miss out and wish you did it a different way.
—Consider loading a countdown app on your phone. There are apps that know where you are and will tell you when totality should start, give you the mid point and when totality will end…all without looking at anything.
—Be sure to see the Corona around the sun during totality. This is a glow of light around the sun…often streaming from sun’s disc behind the moon during totality. The Corona is only visible during totality. You have probably never seen this in your life…and will likely never see it again.
—-Check out “Shadow Bands” during the eclipse. Bring a white sheet to put on the ground during the eclipse to see it best.
—-You should be able to see Venus, Mercury and Jupiter during totality. You should also be able to see some bright (first or second magnitude stars) during totality.
We thank Dr. Kleinhans for his expertise and willingness to share it with us at the 20th annual Indiana Family Star Party at Camp Cullom held July 22, 2023.
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Watch this website on Clinton County Daily News and Boone County Daily News. Keep listening to WILO Radio at 96.9 FM, 102.7 FM in Lebanon or 1570 AM or on our App available world-wide. We will keep you informed of the great places to be and what you can expect to see.
We will update the area weather and cloud cover predictions, school participation and special events and activities surrounding this special event.
The Total Solar Eclipse of Monday, April 8, 2024.
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From the team at WILO RADIO in Frankfort, Lebanon and Delphi, Clinton County Daily News, Boone County Daily News and Hoosierland TV…we hope you have a great Eclipse Day 2024!!!