2024 Solar Eclipse: When To Look Up In Virginia

VIRGINIA — After weeks of hype and planning, Monday’s 2024 total solar eclipse, has arrived to dazzle Virginians. The phenomenon won’t be seen again for two decades.

We’ll see a partial blockage of the sun in D.C. and Northern Virginia with about 88 percent totality as the moon slips between the sun and Earth, according to a searchable NASA map. (Watch the NASA live broadcast below.)

Here are the eclipse times to keep in mind on Monday (all times local):

• Partial eclipse begins: 2:04 p.m.
• Totality begins: 2:45 p.m.
• Maximum: 3:20 p.m.
• Totality ends: 3:54 p.m.
• Partial ends: 4:32 p.m.

Fifteen states are in the path of totality, which extends from Texas to Maine in the United States.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly clear and sunny skies on Monday with a high of 60 degrees.

What’s Happening Around The Region?

• Solar Eclipse Festival on the National Mall: Noon to 4 p.m.
• Fairfax County solar eclipse viewing events on April 8 include:Oakton Library will also hold an educational event on April 2 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ahead of the solar eclipse. On March 30 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Kings Park Library will hold solar eclipse viewer making.
• See Partial Solar Eclipse at Turner Farm Park: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Partial Solar Eclipse Celebration at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Partial Solar Eclipse Celebration at Burke Lake Park: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Safely See Partial Solar Eclipse at Historic Huntley: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse Viewing Party at Centreville Regional Library: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• View the Solar Eclipse at Sherwood Regional Library: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Virginia State Parks plans to host solar eclipse viewers at its 42 state parks around the commonwealth. At Woodbridge's Leesylvania State Park, eclipse viewing will start at 2:02 p.m., reach a peak of 86.7 percent coverage at 3:20 p.m. and end at 4:31 p.m.
• Other Prince William County solar eclipse viewing events on April 8 include:
• Solar Eclipse Family Day at Manassas National Battlefield Park: 12 p.m.
• Solar Eclipse Party at Manassas City Library: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Be Sure To Protect Your Eyes

Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the sun’s face is completely obscured by the moon, it is not safe to look directly at the sun without protective eye equipment, according to NASA.

The American Astronomical Society has a list of vendors whose eclipse glasses have been certified as safe. The organization specifically warns against bargain hunting for eclipse glasses from online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay or Temu because counterfeit glasses have infiltrated retail chains. Wherever you acquire protective eyewear, it should meet or exceed the international safety standard of ISO 12312-2:2015.

• Related: You Must Protect Your Eyes, Regardless Of Eclipse Totality: What You Need

Keep this in mind, too: Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.

One other safe way to view the eclipse is with a do-it-yourself pinhole projector that shows the sun on a nearby surface. The American Astronomical Society has pinhole projector DIY instructions.