Prepare for the cosmic experience of a lifetime as the moon covers 91.2% of the sun at 3:25pm on April 8, 2024. As an epilogue to the Great American Eclipse of 2017, this is your last chance to see the majesty of an eclipse until August 23, 2044.
This eclipse is especially noteworthy so many are within 200 miles of the path of totality, when the sun will be 100% blocked by the moon.
There are several ways to watch the solar eclipse from the Meadowlands. Among the best is New Jersey’s Largest Astronomy Party happening at the Liberty Science Center. Starting at 1pm, the Science Center will hold special shows in its planetarium, and telescopes set up in the back lawn. Staff will also be on hand to help focus telescopes, and to make pinhole viewers through which the eclipse can be safely viewed. Solar viewing glasses will also be made available to all partygoers, included free with every admission ticket. Admission tickets can be purchased from the Liberty Science Center’s website, at lsc.org.
ERA Real Estate is also holding a “watch party” on April 8 between 3pm and 4pm in their parking lot, at 46 Chestnut Street Rutherford, NJ. Free solar viewing glasses are also available (limited to 4 per person) for all those who visit www.ERAWatchParty.com.
The total solar eclipse, in which 100% of the sun is totally eclipsed by the moon, will not be passing over New Jersey. Serious skywatchers are recommended to travel to other areas in the direct path of the total eclipse, such as Syracuse, N.Y., about 4 hours north, or Burlington, Vermont, 5 hours north. There, the solar eclipse will be total, with the entire world blacked out in the middle of the day, truly the sight of a lifetime.
The closest area to New Jersey that will see a total solar eclipse is Buffalo in the western part of New York, which will see the sun completely covered by the moon for three minutes and 31 seconds from 3:18 to 3:21 p.m., according to NASA.
From the Meadowlands, the effect will only be 91.2% of what it is up North. Skywatchers should also take care to avoid eye damage from looking at the sun at any point during the day, either by constructing a peephole viewer out of some construction paper, with the guide available here, or by purchasing some solar viewing glasses available from many vendors online or at ERA Real Estate. Sunglasses are not sufficient protection from the direct radiation of the sun, and resulting eye damage is instant, painless, and permanent.