2024 Great North American Eclipse
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America. While parts of Arkansas are in the path of totality, Fayetteville will only experience 98.9% obscurity of the sun during the eclipse. The partial total eclipse lasts 2 hours 37 minutes with maximum obscurity occurring at 1:51 pm. The NEXT total solar eclipse across the United States will not be until August 23, 2044. Monday, April 8, will be a student holiday which will allow families to go outside and safely view the eclipse with the solar glasses provided by the Arkansas STEM Coalition and Fayetteville Public Education Foundation.
Many areas of the state experienced a partial eclipse on Saturday, October 14, 2023, when The American West Ring of Fire annular eclipse occurs. This was an excellent out-of-school opportunity to build excitement and curiosity about these celestial events. In Fayetteville, we experienced around 67% obscurity of the sun at 11:53 am with the entire event lasting from 10:26 am -1:27 pm. Link to annular eclipse map.
National Science Teachers Association Informational Handout for Parents
Path of the April 8, 2024 Eclipse Over Arkansas
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. People viewing the eclipse from locations where the Moon’s shadow completely covers the Sun – known as the path of totality – will experience a total solar eclipse. The sky will become dark, as if it were dawn or dusk. Weather permitting, people along the path of totality will see the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which is usually obscured by the bright face of the Sun. When a solar eclipse reaches totality, nocturnal wildlife sometimes wakes up, thinking that it’s nighttime, and non-nocturnal wildlife might think it’s time to head to sleep.
Special Thank You
A special thanks to the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation for providing a grant for solar glasses and materials for modeling an eclipse for 5th-8th grade students as part of an interdisciplinary study on the scientific causation, myths and legends, and mathematical analysis of events associated with the eclipses.
