TYLER, Texas — Tyler Junior College is making preparations for the annular solar eclipse that will be seen across Texas.
This Saturday, Oct. 14, all eyes will be on the sky, as the annular solar eclipse will be seen in Tyler. East Texans will experience 80% coverage and this eclipse will not be the only one we will see. The first eclipse is set for this Saturday, Oct. 14 and the second is April 8, 2024.
"Solar eclipses happen about every 18 months or so. What’s rare and special about this is that Texas is going to be on the path to see two solar eclipses kind of back-to-back," said Dr. Beau Hartweg, Director of the TJC Earth and Space Science Center.
Hartweg also said that while both eclipses are incredible events, there are clear differences between the two.
"I like to say that the event that's happening this Saturday is kind of like listening to your favorite band on the radio. It’s great music, you love it, but what’s happening in April is like getting a backstage pass to see them live. It's the same music, but nobody would say it's the same experience," Hartweg said.
If you’re one of the many East Texans who’d like to see it firsthand, it’s important to remember that you can’t look directly at the eclipse even if you’re wearing sunglasses. However, Dr. Hartweg explained that there are multiple ways to see it safely.
"We call these solar viewing glasses. If you do not have something like a solar filter or solar eclipse glasses, you can also use something like a pinhole viewer. It’s just a card with a hole punched out in it, and you can use that to have the sun projecting the image from the eclipse onto another surface like the ground or a piece of paper or something like that. And let's just say you don’t have any of that available, you can get even more low-tech and just use your hands and kind-of make a criss-cross pattern between your fingers and have the light from the sun passing through your fingers and project onto something like the ground as well," Hartweg said.
Anywhere in East Texas that you can see the sun, you’ll be able to see the ellipse. But if you want to join a community viewing event, Tyler Junior College is offering two free options!
"The first event will be here at the Earth and Space Science Center. We will have solar viewers, solar telescopes, as well as a live stream of the eclipse as it’s happening in our planetarium. In addition, this is also occurring during TJC’s homecoming, so we have our homecoming tailgate and solar eclipse viewing party. And that will be at the W. T. Brookshires center," Hartweg said.
And don’t worry if you miss it this weekend, Dr. Hartweg says you can mark your calendar for April 8th, 2024. Until then, the TJC Earth and Space Science Center will be helping inform the community about this phenomenon in preparation.
To register for TJC's solar eclipse viewing party, click here.