What’s happening
In a total eclipse, the moon will cover the sun completely for up to 4.5 minutes, depending on where the eclipse is viewed from. It’s a once-in-a lifetime event for North Texans, Total Eclipse DFW founder Jo Trizila said. DFW won’t see another total eclipse for about 300 years.
“It is one of the coolest things anybody will ever witness,” Trizila said. “The birds stop chirping, and they go to bed. The temperature drops. It gets pretty dark because the moon’s covering the sun completely.”
Trizila offered tips on how people can prepare for the event April 8, including where to get solar glasses and how they can decide where to view the eclipse.
Explained
Total Eclipse DFW maintains a list of cities that lie in the path of totality on its website. All cities in Collin and Dallas counties will see the total eclipse. Most cities in Denton and Tarrant counties will also see the total eclipse.
For residents living in cities that will only experience a partial eclipse, Trizila recommends they plan a trip to a location where they can see the total eclipse.
Residents can check total eclipse start times and durations at www.totaleclipsedfw.com/dfw-total-eclipse-cities.
“Here's the deal: You're either in totality or you're not,” she said. “If you're not in totality, get to a totality city.”
Another detail
Glasses compliant with the International Organization for Standardization are required for direct solar viewing during the event. Everybody in the U.S. hoping to watch the eclipse is going to need a pair of glasses, but experts are anticipating a shortage of special film required for the glasses, Trizila said.
“We don't have enough pairs of glasses to cover that many people,” she said. “You need to make sure you get your glasses now.”
The tricky part is that anybody can put an ISO-compliant label on their glasses and sell them, Trizila said. Instead of buying a pair of glasses from Amazon or eBay, she recommended people check an authorized reseller list on the American Astronomical Society’s website.
“We don't care where you buy your glasses just as long as you buy them from an AAS-approved vendor,” she said. “Unfortunately, during events like this there's way too many opportunities for fraudulent sellers and in this case, if you buy fraudulent glasses, it could cost you your eyesight.”
One more thing
About 1.5 million people from across the world are expected to visit DFW for the event, Trizila said. Historically, the region offers some of the best weather and least cloud coverage compared to other U.S. cities. The region will also have some of the longest total eclipse durations in the country, Trizila said.
Plan in advance for the roads to be crowded April 8, Trizila said. Residents from cities such as Denton, which will not see a total eclipse, may be traveling that day as well.
“If you can avoid it, don't make any dental appointments, doctor's appointments [or] grocery store runs around the total solar eclipse because the roads are going to be very, very crowded,” she said.
For more information about the upcoming eclipse, go to www.totaleclipsedfw.com.
