DALLAS — A Total Solar Eclipse happens during the early afternoon of Monday, April 8.
All of Texas sees at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting, but some North Texas locations will be in the path of totality!
The Dallas-Fort Worth area will be the largest metropolitan area in the path of totality. Many will flock to Texas to get a front-row seat to the biggest celestial event of the century.
Total Solar Eclipse: What does that mean?
The moon will block the entire sun, casting a shadow that will cross North America including Mexico, Canada and the United States. The entire blocking of the sun is called totality. The image above shows the path of totality. The line in the middle is called the centerline of the eclipse.
The map below shows the amount of time locations will spend in totality. The closer an area is to the centerline, the longer the time it'll spend in darkness.
The centerline represents roughly four and a half minutes of totality! It drastically changes on either side of the line.
Eclipse glasses are needed to safely enjoy the eclipse without eye damage. Eclipse glasses should be certified to meet the ISO 12312-2 standard, indicating that they offer sufficient protection against solar radiation. Glasses that meet this standard will have the ISO 12312 -2 code on them.
Time in totality
For DFW, the partial eclipse begins at 12:23 p.m. Totality will be reached at 1:40 p.m. until 1:43 p.m. bringing the total time of darkness to 3 minutes and 4 seconds. During this time, AND THIS TIME ONLY, can the eclipse glasses come off. The partial eclipse will continue until 3:02 p.m.
The big winners in North Texas will be in southern Ellis County and Kaufman counties since the eclipse centerline goes right through.
Highest time spent in totality in North Texas (minutes : seconds)
- Ennis 4:24
- Kaufman 4:23
- Elmo 4:24
Here is a list of a few other locations with time in totality (minutes : seconds)
- Dallas 3:51
- DFW 3:04
- Fort Worth 2:24
- McKinney 3:04
- Arlington 3:20
- Waxahachie 4:18
- Corsicana 4:05
- Rockwall 4:04
- Roanoke 0:59
- Celina 1:42
- Canton 4:08
- Paris 3:59
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